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THE  LIBRARY 

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OF  CALIFORNIA 

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THE  PRESENT 
WORLD  SITUATION 

JOHN  R.  MOTT 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

rHE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


IN  MEMORY  OF 

Loids  Knott  Koontz 


THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 


BOOKS   BY   JOHN    R.    MOTT 


STRATEGIC    POINTS    IN    THE    WORLD'S 
CONQUEST 

THE    EVANGELIZATION    OF  THE    WORLD 
IN  THIS  GENERATION 

THE    STUDENTS    OF    NORTH     AMERICA 
UNITED 

THE    PASTOR    AND    MODERN    MISSIONS 

THE      FUTURE      LEADERSHIP      OF      THE 
CHURCH 

THE     DECISIVE     HOUR     OF     CHRISTIAN 
MISSIONS 


THE  PRESENT 
WORLD  SITUATION 


WITH   SPECIAL    REFERENCE   TO   THE    DEMANDS 

MADE    UPON    THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH    IN 

RELATION   TO    NON-CHRISTIAN    LANDS 


BY 

John  R.  Mott 


'^      ^'s       n::\  < 


A^<5» ~ ^;iilir 


■■^■■iiiii" 


New  York 

STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 

FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

1915 


COPTBIOHT,   1914,  BT 

STUDENT   VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 
FOR  FOREIGN   MISSIONS 

Ail  right$  rtservei 


PREFACE 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  show  that 
the  present  world  situation — a  situation  un- 
precedented in  opportunity,  in  danger  and  in 
urgency — demands  from  the  forces  of  pure 
Christianity  the  development  and  exercise  of 
statesmanship,  the  Christianization  of  the 
impact  of  our  Western  civilization  on  the 
non-Christian  world,  a  closer  and  more  prac- 
tical co-operation  and  unity  among  Chris- 
tians in  their  missionary  tasks,  and  a  far 
larger  emphasis  on  the  spiritual  side  of  the 
stupendous  undertaking  of  making  Christ 
and  His  truth  known  and  obeyed  among  all 
men. 

Before  the  War  broke  out  the  book  was 
written  just  as  it  now  appears.  That  great 
catastrophe,  however,  lends  a  peculiar  time- 
liness and  meaning  to  the  treatment  of 
the  subject.  What  a  demonstration  the  War 
has  furnished  of  the  contention  that  the  pres- 
ent is  a  time  of  unprecedented  danger.    Who 


.  tf"^  tf^~x  ^  ^  m  .^"^ 


vi  PREFACE 

will  say  that  the  opportunity  which  is  likely 
to  confront  the  cause  of  Christ  at  the  close 
of  the  struggle  will  not  be  more  extensive 
than  ever  before?  Changed  conditions  and 
greatly  aggravated  difficulties  occasioned  by 
the  present  upheaval  will  make  an  added 
call  for  the  highest  order  of  Christian 
statesmanship.  What  a  colossal  exhibition 
the  War  affords  of  the  unchristian  char- 
acter of  much  of  our  so-called  Christian  civ- 
ilization, and  what  a  challenge  it  presents  to 
the  leaders  of  vital,  Christlike  Christianity 
to  strive  to  bring  in  a  new  order  wherein  shall 
dwell  righteousness,  love  and  true  peace!  In 
view  of  depleted  material  and  human  re- 
sources, severely  strained  international  re- 
lations, and  broken  Christian  fellowship 
caused  by  the  War,  greatly  increased  force 
is  given  to  the  arguments  for  co-operation 
and  unity.  If  such  a  policy  were  admittedly 
desirable  before,  it  is  essential  now.  Never 
before  has  there  been  such  general  distrust 
of  human  ability  and  such  wide-spread 
recognition  of  the  need  of  superhuman  wis- 
dom,  love   and   power  to  meet   the  world 


PREFACE  vii 

situation.  Thus,  in  the  midst  of  so  much 
that  is  changing  and  uncertain,  the  call 
is  insistent  that  chief  emphasis  be  placed 
upon  the  changeless  facts  and  the  limitless 
resources  associated  with  the  Fountain  Head 
of  spiritual  life  and  energy — Jesus  Christ,  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever. 

Under  the  auspices  of  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  five  of  the  chapters  of  this  book 
were  given  as  lectures  in  April,  1914,  in  San- 
ders Theater  at  Harvard  University,  and  were 
repeated  at  the  Boston  University  School  of 
Theology.  Chapter  II  is  an  address  deliv- 
ered in  January,  1914,  at  the  Convention  of 
the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  in  Kansas 
City.  Chapter  VII  is  reproduced,  with  shght 
changes,  from  The  International  Review  of 
Missions  for  April,  1914. 

John  R.   Mott. 

December,  1914. 


CONTENTS 

PAGB 

I.    The  Present  World  Situation      3 
II.    The  Openness  and  Responsive- 
ness OF  THE   Non-Christian 
World 19 

III.  The  Need  for  Statesmanship 

IN  Christian  Missions  .        .     59 

IV.  The  Unchristian  Aspects  of  the 

Impact  of  Our  Western  Civ- 
ilization     97 

V.  How  the  Impact  of  Our 
Western  Civilization  may 
BE  Christianized  .  .  127 
VI.  How  TO  Ensure  Closer  Co- 
operation AND  Unity  on  the 
Part  of  Christian  Forces   .    153 

VII.  Present  Possibilities  of  Co- 
operation IN  THE  Mission 
Field 177 

VIII.    Where   to  Place    the    Chief 
Emphasis  in  the  Missionary 
Enterprise       ....  207 
ix 


THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 


THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

The  forces  of  pure  Christianity  as  they  face 
the  non-Christian  nations  and  peoples  are 
confronting  an  unprecedented  world  situa- 
tion. Certainly  it  is  unprecedented  in  op- 
portunity. In  this  respect  there  has  been 
nothing  like  it  in  the  annals  of  the  Christian 
faith.  There  have  been  times  when  in  a  few 
countries  the  doors  to  the  friendly  and  con- 
structive mission  of  Christianity  were  as  wide 
open  as  they  are  to-day;  but  there  never  was 
a  time  when  simultaneously  in  so  many  sec- 
tions of  the  world  the  opportunities  for  the 
extension  of  the  Christian  religion  were  so 
numerous  and  so  extensive  as  at  the  present 
time.  This  is  true  in  the  Far  East  and  the 
Near  East,  in  Southern  Asia,  in  the  Pacific 
Island  world,  in  nearly  all  parts  of  Africa  and 
of  Latin  America.  Moreover,  so  far  as  one 
can  forecast  the  future,  there  is  not  likely  to 
come  a  time  when  the  opportunities  will  be 

3 


4       THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

greater  than  those  with  which  the  Christian 
Church  must  deal  to-day.  Where,  after 
China,  is  there  another  nation  of  four  hun- 
dred millions  of  people  to  turn  from  an  an- 
cient past  and  to  swing  out  into  the  full 
stream  of  modern  Christian  civilization? 
Where  after  India  is  there  another  vast  em- 
pire to  be  swept  by  the  spirit  of  unrest  and 
to  be  made  peculiarly  accessible  to  the  recon- 
structive processes  of  Christianity?  Where 
after  Africa  is  there  another  continent  for 
which  Mohammedanism  and  Christianity  can 
contend?  Where  after  Turkey  and  the  Nile 
Valley  is  there  another  keystone  to  the  vast 
arch  of  the  Mohammedan  world,  with  seams 
of  weakness  which  make  possible  the  dis- 
rupting of  the  whole  structure? 

What  lends  added  significance  to  the  pres- 
ent situation  is  the  fact  that  this  unparalleled 
enlargement  of  opportunity  comes  at  a  time 
when  the  Christian  Church  is  called  upon  to 
deal  with  some  of  the  most  difficult  problems 
with  which  it  has  ever  had  to  grapple  on  the 
home  field.  This  is  true  of  North  America, 
of  Western  and  Northern  Europe,  of  Aus- 


SIGNIFICANCE  AND  URGENCY  5 

tralasia  and  South  Africa.  Why  is  it  that 
at  the  very  time  the  Christian  forces  have 
more  to  do  than  ever  at  the  home  base,  they 
are  also  confronted  with  an  immeasurably 
greater  opportunity  abroad  than  that  which 
has  faced  any  preceding  generation?  May 
it  not  be  because  God  sees  that  there  are  now 
on  the  earth  those  with  whom  He  can  trust 
a  situation  literally  world-wide  in  its  sweep? 
With  His  all-seeing  eye  does  He  not  pierce 
beneath  the  surface  and  recognize  latent  in 
the  Christians  of  our  day  capacities  for  vision, 
for  adventure,  for  heroism,  for  statesmanship 
and  for  vicariousness  which,  if  exercised  and 
accompanied  by  His  own  superhuman  forces, 
make  possible  the  meeting  of  this  absolutely 
new  world  situation? 

We  are  living  at  the  most  dangerous  time 
in  the  history  of  the  w^orld.  This  is  due  to 
the  shrinkage  of  the  world  caused  by  the 
greatly  improved  means  of  communication. 
In  many  ways  the  whole  world  now  is  smaller 
than  that  part  of  the  United  States  east  of 
the  Mississippi  River  was  a  generation  ago. 
It  is  indeed  one  great  community;  it  has 


6        THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

become  a  whispering  gallery.  As  a  result,  the 
nations  and  races  have  been  brought  into 
the  most  intimate  contact.  This  has  led  to 
grave  perils.  One  danger  is  the  great  multi- 
plication of  friction  points.  Some  hoped  and 
even  believed  that  this  new  century  might 
be  ushered  in  with  universal  peace  and  good- 
will among  the  nations  and  races;  but  more 
than  any  preceding  century  has  this  one 
been  characterized  by  national  and  racial 
misunderstandings,  prejudices,  bitterness  and 
strife.  The  mingling  of  peoples,  the  clash  of 
civilizations,  and  the  processes  which  char- 
acterize this  scientific  age  have  led  to  marked 
relaxing  and  weakening  of  the  restraints  of 
the  social  customs  as  well  as  the  ethical  and 
religious  systems  of  non-Christian  peoples. 
This  is  in  itself  a  very  grave  danger. 

One  of  the  most  alarming  perils  is  that 
of  the  demoralization  which  takes  place 
where  two  or  more  races  are  brought  into 
contact  without  the  restraining  and  trans- 
forming influence  of  a  greater  than  human 
power.  There  is  something  which  strange- 
ly  yet   certainly   takes    place    under   such 


SIGNIFICANCE  AND  URGENCY  7 

conditions — something  which  tends  to  draw 
out  the  worst  of  each  race.  Equally  true  is 
it  that  the  best  is  called  forth  when  the  prin- 
ciples and  spirit  of  vital  Christianity  are  at 
such  a  time  brought  to  bear  on  the  races 
concerned.  How  true  it  is  that  in  a  race,  as 
in  an  individual,  there  are  not  only  heights 
that  lay  hold  of  highest  heaven  but  depths 
that  lay  hold  of  deepest  hell!  The  worst 
places  to  be  found  anywhere  on  earth  are 
those  where  races  have  been  thrown  against 
each  other  without  the  presence  and  mani- 
festation of  the  superhuman  forces  of  pure 
Christianity.  That  there  is  danger  also  of 
an  ever-increasing  consolidation  of  non-Chris- 
tian peoples  against  the  ideals  and  purposes 
which  are  most  distinctive  to  the  Christian 
religion  there  can  be  no  question.  The  fact 
that  it  is  not  an  organized  or  formal  opposi- 
tion conducted  by  systematic  policy  or  de- 
sign is  all  the  more  significant. 

How  may  these  momentous  perils  be  coun- 
teracted and  overcome?  Some  still  appeal 
for  a  policy  of  segregation.  They  say  that 
the  only  hope  of  averting  these  alarming 


-rJ. 


8       THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

dangers  is  to  separate  the  races  from  each 
other.  Even  though  such  a  course  might 
have  been  practicable  in  other  days,  it  is  so 
no  longer.  It  may  be  possible  for  countries 
like  America,  Canada  and  Australia  to  ex- 
clude Orientals  from  their  borders,  but  it  is 
not  possible  in  this  day  of  industrial  and 
commercial  expansion  to  keep  the  aggressive 
young  men  of  Europe  and  America  out  of 
Asia  and  Africa.  Moreover,  the  countless 
international  contacts  which  have  been  es- 
tablished in  recent  years  manifest  the  abso- 
lute futility  of  any  attempt  in  this  day  to 
keep  nations  and  peoples  in  water-tight  com- 
partments. 

Others  argue  in  favor  of  amalgamation  as 
a  means  of  diminishing  the  dangers  which  so 
threaten  the  world.  History,  as  well  as  pres- 
ent-day experience  in  certain  parts  of  the 
world,  shows  that  such  a  course  would  follow 
the  line  of  least  resistance  and  inevitably 
would  be  attended  with  results  of  the  most 
serious  character. 

In  the  judgment  of  many  leaders  in  dif- 
ferent nations,  a  policy  of  military  and  na- 


SIGNIFICANCE  AND  URGENCY  9 

val  domination  is  the  only  hope  of  making 
the  world  safe.  The  late  Sir  Robert  Hart 
showed,  at  the  time  of  the  Boxer  uprising, 
that  this  would  require  a  military  establish- 
ment so  colossal  that  it  would  break  down 
the  powers  of  the  world  to  maintain  it.  This 
also  tends  to  accentuate  the  very  danger 
which  we  wish  to  avoid. 

In  every  quarter  of  the  world  many  put 
forward  education  as  the  secret  of  ensuring 
the  proper  well-being  of  the  peoples  and  of 
good-will  among  the  nations.  To-day,  as  in 
the  past,  some  of  the  best  educated  nations 
are  those  most  in  danger  from  these  gravest 
perils.  Leaders  of  Japan  have  expressed 
themselves  with  solicitude  concerning  the 
breakdown  in  character  of  men  in  public  and 
commercial  life.  It  is  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, that  under  the  auspices  of  the  Govern- 
ment there  was  held  in  Japan  as  recently  as 
1911  a  conference  of  leaders  of  the  different 
religions  to  consider  among  other  things  what 
religion  can  do  to  strengthen  or  buttress  the 
morals  of  a  nation.  Education  alone  in  any 
country  merely  sharpens  a  man's  weapons 


10     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

and  makes  him  more  successful  in  using  them. 
But  using  them  for  what,  and  against  what? 
It  was  said  of  Lorenzo  de  Medici,  one  of  the 
great  Italian  scholars,  ''He  was  cultured  but 
corrupt;  wise  but  cruel;  spending  the  morn- 
ing writing  a  sonnet  in  praise  of  virtue  and 
spending  the  night  in  vice."  It  matters  not 
how  well  educated  a  man  may  be,  if  he  goes 
out  into  the  world  with  a  corrupt  heart,  an 
ungoverned  Vill  and  low  ideals,  he  is  a  men- 
ace to  society  and  a  source  of  weakness  to 
the  Hfe  of  his  nation. 

What  then  will  afford  a  helpful  environ- 
ment and  ensure  right  feelings  and  relation- 
ships between  nations  and  races?  The  only 
program  which  can  meet  all  the  alarming 
facts  of  the  situation  is  the  world-wide  spread 
of  Christianity  in  its  purest  form.  In  other 
words,  this  is  not  a  matter  of  external  ar- 
rangements. The  disposition  of  men  must 
be  changed.  Their  motive  hfe  must  be  in- 
fluenced. The  springs  of  conduct  must  be 
touched.  Right  ideals  must  be  implanted. 
A  new  spirit  must  be  imparted.  All  this  is 
only  tantamount  to  saying  that  the  influence 


SIGNIFICANCE  AND  URGENCY  11 

of  the  life  and  spirit  as  well  as  the  principles 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  source  of  superhuman 
life  and  energy,  must  be  brought  to  bear  on 
all  men  individually  and  upon  all  their  rela- 
tionships. 

The  present  world  situation  is  unprece- 
dented not  only  in  opportunity  and  in  dan- 
ger, but  also  in  urgency.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  the  Christian  Church  the  present  mo- 
ment is  incomparably  the  most  critical  and 
urgent  it  has  ever  known.  This  is  true  be- 
cause so  many  nations  just  now  in  a  plastic 
condition  are  soon  to  become  set  unchange- 
ably. Shall  Christian  or  unchristian  influ- 
ences determine  their  character  and  destiny? 
The  answer  to  this  question  cannot  be  de- 
ferred. To  delay  by  even  a  half  decade 
facing  the  situation  and  acting  upon  it  com- 
prehensively would  be  the  most  serious  mis- 
take which  Christian  leaders  in  this  genera- 
tion could  make. 

The  present  is  a  time  when  rising  tides  of 
nationalism  and  racial  patriotism  are  surging 
on  every  hand.  Wherever  the  world  traveler 
may  have  gone  in  recent  years  he  has  become 


12      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

very  conscious  of  the  thrill  of  a  new  life.  He 
has  found  nations  being  reborn;  he  has  ob- 
served peoples  coming  into  their  own.  This 
growing  spirit  of  nationality  and  racial  patri- 
otism can  no  more  be  resisted  than  can  the 
tides  of  the  sea.  If  Christians  show  them- 
selves sympathetic  with  all  commendable 
national  and  racial  aspirations  of  non-Chris- 
tian countries,  the  progress  of  Christianity 
throughout  the  world  will  be  greatly  facili- 
tated; if  they  do  not,  the  mission  of  the 
Christian  religion  will  be  indefinitely  retarded. 
The  startlingly  rapid  spread  of  the  corrupt 
influences  in  our  so-called  Western  civiliza- 
tion among  non-Christian  peoples  constitutes 
another  reason  for  prompt  and  urgent  action 
on  the  part  of  the  Christian  Church.  The 
cheek  of  the  visitor  from  a  Christian  land 
blushes  with  shame  as  he  sees  in  the  port 
cities  of  Asia,  Africa  and  Latin  America  the 
alarming  prevalence  of  evils  which  have 
spread  from  his  native  land.  Some  of  these 
evils  are  eating  like  gangrene  into  the  less 
highly  organized  races  of  mankind.  Chris- 
tianity has  a  double  responsibility.     It  must 


SIGNIFICANCE  AND  URGENCY         13 

counteract  these  baneful  influences  wherever 
they  have  extended  and  it  must  preempt 
those  regions  of  the  world  where  these  evils 
have  not  yet  reached.  Nothing  but  the 
power  of  the  living  Christ  can  arrest  and 
turn  back  these  tides  of  death. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  cancerous  growths 
of  the  non-Christian  civihzations  are  eating 
with  great  directness  and  deadliness  toward 
the  very  vitals  of  Christendom.  We  cannot 
trifle  with  cancers  nor  can  we  safely  ignore 
them.  Now  that  the  world  has  found  itself 
in  its  unity  as  one  body  (and  this  is  the  first 
half  generation  in  which  this  could  be  said), 
it  can  no  longer  be  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  one  part  of  the  world-body  what  happens 
in  any  other  part.  If  there  be  a  plague  spot 
in  China  or  Turkey  or  Africa,  sooner  or  later 
it  must  affect  America,  England  and  Ger- 
many. It  would  seem  that  even  though  a 
man  were  not  a  Christian  he  would  believe  in 
foreign  missions,  that  is,  in  the  spread  of  the 
knowledge  and  life-giving  power  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  solely  on  grounds  of  patriotism. 
In  these  days  it  is  difficult  to  understand  the 


14      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

patriotism  of  the  citizen  who  does  not  re- 
gard with  responsive  sympathy  every  wise 
effort  to  release  throughout  the  earth  the 
spirit  and  motives  of  Christianity. 

There  is  another  dangerous  process  which 
greatly  accentuates  the  urgency  of  the  pres- 
ent situation — the  process  of  syncretism. 
This  would  seek  to  combine  certain  truths  of 
the  Christian  religion  with  certain  good 
ideas  of  non-Christian  systems  of  religion  or 
ethics,  but  would  leave  out  the  superhuman 
aspects  of  Christianity.  This  is  tantamount 
to  leaving  out  Christianity  itself.  More  dif- 
ficult to  counteract  and  overcome  than  the 
non-Christian  religions  themselves  are  the 
dangers  growing  out  of  eclecticism.  Its  con- 
fusing, unsettling  and  paralyzing  influence  is 
felt  not  only  in  the  East  but  also  in  the  West, 
and  can  be  met  only  by  bringing  to  bear  a 
larger  number  of  the  strongest  and  best 
equipped  minds  of  our  generation. 

The  present  situation  is  immeasurably 
more  urgent  than  that  of  other  days  because 
of  the  recent  unparalleled  triumphs  of  Chris- 
tianity.    It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the 


SIGNIFICANCE  AND  URGENCY         15 

most  extensive  victories  of  Christian  missions 
have  been  those  of  the  recent  past.  Not  even 
in  the  early  days  of  Christianity  were  such 
striking  results  achieved  as  have  accom- 
panied the  efforts  of  Christian  missions  in 
Asia  and  Africa  during  the  last  decade. 
These  victories  have  been  achieved  not  only 
in  the  more  favored  parts  of  the  world  where 
the  forces  and  influences  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion are  most  concentrated,  but  on  some  of 
the  most  difficult  battlefields"of  the  Church. 
Unquestionably  it  is  a  time  of  rising  spiritual 
tide.  It  is  always  wise  to  take  advantage  of 
a  rising  tide.  More  can  be  accomplished  in 
a  short  time  under  such  circumstances  than 
in  long,  weary,  discouraging  periods  of  effort 
while  the  tide  is  falling.  God  seems  to  have 
done  a  hundred  years'  work  within  the  last 
five  years.  The  Christians  of  the  West  must 
quicken  their  pace.  The  discerning  traveler 
returning  from  journeys  in  the  Eastern  world 
to-day  must  be  constrained  to  confess  solici- 
tude, not  lest  the  peoples  of  the  East  fail  to 
receive  Christ,  but  lest  the  Christians  of  the 
West  lose  Christ  as  a  result  of  not  passing 


16      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

on  the  knowledge  of  Him.  The  Christians 
now  living  in  Western  lands  should  have  a 
realizing  sense  that  this  present,  unparalleled 
world  situation  affords  not  only  the  greatest 
opportunity  the  Church  has  ever  known,  but 
also,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  their  best 
and  their  only  opportunity. 

The  work  which  centuries  might  have  done 
Must  crowd  the  hour  of  setting  sun. 


THE    OPENNESS   AND    RESPONSIVE- 
NESS OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN 
WORLD 


n 

THE   OPENNESS   AND   RESPONSIVE- 
NESS OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN 
WORLD 

There  are  many  and  multiplying  evidences 
that  the  peoples  of  non-Christian  lands  are 
peculiarly  accessible  and  responsive  to  the 
message  and  the  messengers  of  vital  Chris- 
tianity. Facts  could  be  massed  showing  how 
true  this  is  with  reference  to  the  masses  in 
nearly  all  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  not  to 
mention  other  sections  of  the  non-Christian 
world.  Possibly  even  more  significant,  how- 
ever, are  the  facts  indicating  the  attitude  of 
the  educated  classes  toward  Christ  and  His 
claims.  For  the  present,  therefore,  I  con- 
fine myself  to  relating  certain  experiences  and 
recording  impressions  in  connection  with  my 
recent  journeys  in  the  Near  East  and  the  Far 
East.  -  In  order  to  make  more  clear  the 
marked  change  which  has  taken  place,  I  shall 
follow  the  plan  of  contrasting  these  late  ex- 

10 


20     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

periences  and  observations  with  those  re- 
lated to  my  visits  to  the  same  lands  half  a 
generation  ago.  The  experiences  and  testi- 
mony of  countless  other  travelers,  as  well  as 
of  workers  residing  in  the  different  fields, 
would  tend  to  enforce  greatly  the  conviction 
that  at  the  present  time  there  exists  through- 
out the  non-Christian  world  an  unexampled 
desire  to  know  the  truth  of  Christ  and 
readiness  to  respond  to  the  Christian  ap- 
peal. 

On  my  first  visit  to  Russia,  about  fifteen 
years  ago,  it  was  impossible  to  gain  access 
to  the  educated  classes  of  that  great  Empire. 
At  that  time  had  I  been  found  in  a  street  car 
with  five  Russian  students,  all  of  us  would 
have  been  subject  to  arrest.  The  meetings 
were  necessarily  held  in  secret,  between  mid- 
night and  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Were 
I  to  visit  Russia  again  under  these  circum- 
stances, I  would  not  follow  such  a  course — 
not  because  of  personal  peril,  but  because  of 
the  risk  involved  for  others.  During  that 
visit,  I  delivered  only  one  public  address, 
and  that  in  the  British-American  Chapel  in 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS     21 

St.  Petersburg.  I  was  warned  that  even 
there  spies  would  be  present,  and  it  caused 
me  not  a  little  perplexity  to  choose  a  subject 
on  which  I  could  safely  speak.  At  last  the 
topic  "Secret  Prayer,"  was  selected.  Had 
I  spoken  on  any  theme  bearing  upon  organi- 
zation, association,  international  relations,  or 
propaganda,  it  would  have  ended  all  my  ef- 
forts then  and  there,  and  seriously  embar- 
rassed the  work  of  others  who  were  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  object  of  gaining  access  to 
the  Russian  students  for  the  work  of  Christ. 
In  striking  contrast  with  this  experience 
was  that  of  my  last  visit  to  Russia,  when  I 
was  given  the  largest  freedom  to  conduct 
public  evangehstic  campaigns  among  the 
students  and  other  educated  classes  in  some 
of  the  principal  cities.  It  was  necessary  to 
secure  the  largest  halls  in  these  centers  to 
hold  the  multitudes  of  students.  All  the 
meetings,  as  was  customary,  were  open  to 
both  men  and  women  students;  for  in  that 
land  the  students  of  both  sexes  insist  on  hav- 
ing everything  in  common.  The  women  w^ere 
present  even  at  meetings  where  purity  and 


22      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

sex  questions  were  discussed,  maintaining, 
to  use  the  expression  of  one  of  their  number, 
^'We  have  been  going  to  the  bad  together; 
why  should  we  not  learn  to  climb  the  heights 
together."  Admission  to  the  meetings  was 
by  ticket,  and  a  charge  was  made  in  order 
that  the  students  might  accumulate  a  fund 
with  which  to  help  fellow  students  who  were 
in  dire  need.  As  a  rule  these  large  halls 
and  theaters  were  crowded.  The  police 
allowed  no  one  to  stand  in  the  aisles,  but 
students  were  permitted  to  stand  in  the 
large  area  in  front  of  the  stage. 

Never  shall  I  forget  those  seas  of  Russian 
faces  extending  from  the  stage  where  I  stood, 
back  over  the  crowded  area  and  to  the  upper- 
most gallery.  Most  of  the  faces  bore  the 
mark  of  tragedy,  and  the  word  tragedy  is 
used  advisedly,  for  that  Russian  student  is 
an  exception  who  does  not  know  its  meaning, 
either  through  his  own  personal  experience 
or  that  of  some  member  of  his  family.  Those 
who  best  know  the  inner  life  of  Russian 
students  say  that  a  majority  of  them  have 
contemplated  suicide.    Indeed,  more  students 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      23 

commit  suicide  each  year  in  Russia  than 
in  all  other  countries  combined.  Each 
meeting  lasted  about  three  hours.  Every 
word  had  to  be  spoken  through  an  inter- 
preter. Usually  I  gave  two  or  three  addresses 
in  succession,  pausing  a  few  moments  be- 
tween the  two  principal  addresses,  during 
which  interval  the  students,  as  is  their  cus- 
tom, drank  tea  and  discussed  the  points  of 
the  address.  As  the  meeting  drew  to  a 
close,  it  was  always  difficult  to  get  the  other 
students  to  leave  in  order  that  we  might 
come  into  closer  and  more  helpful  relation  to 
those  who  were  ready  to  become  serious  in- 
quirers. 

Nearly  all  the  students  of  Russia  are 
agnostics.  They  are,  as  the  Germans  would 
say,  confessionslos.  Though  they  are  without 
religion,  they  are,  however,  the  most  religious 
students  I  have  ever  met,  unless  it  be  those 
of  India.  They  have  a  thirst  to  find  religious 
truth  and  to  experience  its  power.  In  every 
city  large  numbers  of  them  became  sincere 
inquirers.  They  listened  with  that  intensity 
which  fairly  draws  out  one's  soul.    They  not 

8 


24      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

only  remained  after  the  addresses  to  receive 
personal  counsel  and  direction  as  to  how  to 
find  Christ,  but  they  also  sought  me  out  on 
all  possible  occasions.  Though  they  did  not 
know  the  English  language  and  though  I  did 
not  know  Russian,  they  would  follow  me  as 
I  walked  along  the  streets  or  rode  in  the 
street  cars.  They  came  to  my  hotel  at  an- 
nounced hours  for  interviews,  and  at  periods 
when  I  had  indicated  that  I  wished  to  be  left 
alone.  They  seemed  to  think  that  if  they 
could  draw  near  me,  as  the  messenger  of  the 
Christian  students  of  other  lands,  they  might 
find  something  to  quench  their  thirst  to  know 
the  truth. 

Bands  of  investigators  of  Christ  and  His 
teachings  were  left  in  each  center.  In  some 
cases  the  number  of  inquirers  was  so  great 
that  proper  provision  could  not  be  made  for 
them.  In  one  university  center  the  evening 
before  the  day  of  my  departure,  I  said  to  the 
audience,  ''All  those  present  who  would  like 
to  learn  how  to  follow  Christ  as  I  have 
been  setting  Him  forth,  meet  me  in  this  hall 
at  two  o'clock  to-morrow  afternoon."     AJif- 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      25 

ficult  hour  had  purposely  been  chosen  in 
order  that  there  might  be  a  more  searching 
test.    To  the  amazement  of  all,  literally  hun- 


dreds came  to  this  special  meeting — a  meet- 
ing of  such  intensity  as  characterizes  gather- 
ings where  there  are  present  only  those  who 
are  in  dead  earnest  to  discover  and  follow 
the  truth.  Nearly  all  of  the  large  number 
who  came  decided  heroically  to  become  in- 
vestigators. Then  I  had  that  most  trying  ex- 
perience of  having  to  leave  these  hundreds  of 
true  inquirers  alone,  without  sympathetic  and 
wise  guides,  for  we  had  no  Christian  Student 
Movement  or  expert  Christian  leaders  to 
whom  to  entrust  them.  Baron  Nicolay,  Miss 
Ruth  Rouse,  Mr.  Sherwood  Eddy  and  others 
have  had  similar  experiences  within  the  last 
few  years. 

These  encouraging  beginnings  have  been 
followed  by  the  establishment  of  scores  of 
Bible  classes  or  circles.  Student  Christian 
Associations  have  been  developed  at  the  prin- 
cipal student  centers,  and  in  some  cases  their 
work  has  become  so  extensive  as  to  necessi- 
tate  securing  and   conducting  foyers,  that 


7 


26      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

is,  suites  of  rooms  properly  equipped  for  the 
social  and  religious  activities  of  the  society. 
Many  valuable  apologetic  books  and  pam- 
phlets have  been  issued  and  are  being  widely 
purchased  and  read  by  the  students.  Con- 
ferences of  Christian  leaders  and  workers  are 
being  conducted  from  year  to  year.  Several 
very  able  Russian  and  foreign  secretaries  are 
devoting  their  entire  time  to  the  leadership 
of  the  work.  In  some  cases  the  Government 
has  granted  statutes  to  the  newly  formed 
Student  Christian  Associations.  Most  won- 
derful of  all,  in  June,  1913,  this  new  Chris- 
tian Movement  in  the  universities  of  Russia, 
made  up  so  largely  of  members  of  the  Rus- 
sian Orthodox  Church,  was  received  into  the 
World's  Student  Christian  Federation. 

Colonel  Roosevelt,  while  President,  wrote 
me  a  letter  to  be  read  to  the  Russian  students, 
and  in  it  made  the  statement  that,  "No  land 
more  than  Russia  holds  the  fate  of  the  coming 
years."  Certainly  there  are  many  facts  in 
support  of  this  opinion.  The  Russian  Em- 
pire stretches  from  ocean  to  ocean  in  that 
zone  of  power  where  we  find  such  nations  as 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      27 

Britain,  Germany,  France,  United  States, 
Canada,  Japan  and  China.  It  possesses 
more  extensive  undeveloped  material  re- 
sources than  any  other  land,  not  excepting 
Canada  and  China.  It  blends  the  strong 
strains  of  Europe  and  Asia.  Within  its 
borders  are  found  in  strength  those  three 
great  religions,  Christianity,  Judaism  and 
Mohammedanism.  Its  people  possess  capac- 
ities for  creative  and  constructive  achieve- 
ment, as  well  as  for  heroism  and  suffering, 
which  unquestionably  mark  them  out  for  a 
great  work  in  the  world. 

In  the  autumn  of  1895,  at  the  time  of  my 
first  visit  to  Turkey,  I  tried  in  vain  to  get 
access  to  the  Mohammedan  students  in  Con- 
stantinople. When  we  started  to  go  on 
board  our  ship  to  proceed  toward  India,  wo 
heard  the  firing  of  the  rifles  as  Armenians 
were  being  shot  down  in  the  streets.  We 
were  told  on  good^authority  that  during  the 
few  days  we  were  there  hundreds  of  them 
had  stones  tied  to  their  necks  and  were  sunk 
in  the  Bosphorus,  because  they  had  had  the 
courage  to  think  aloud,  or  to  associate  with 


a  \ 


28      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

others  who  thus  pubHcly  expressed  their 
opinions.  Wherever  I  went  in  Turkey  that 
year,  I  found  the  door  to  the  Moslem  stu- 
dents closed,  and  was  obliged  to  confine  my 
efforts  to  work  among  Christians  in  the  mis- 
sion schools  and  colleges.  Even  such  work 
had  to  be  conducted  in  the  most  quiet  man- 
ner. 

Three  years  ago  I  revisited  Turkey.  The 
contrast  in  the  experiences  of  the  two  visits 
seems  almost  incredible.  On  this  last  visit 
I  went  to  Constantinople  to  help  organize, 
at  the  gateway  of  the  political  capital  of  the 
Mohammedan  world,  a  conference  of  the 
World's  Student  Christian  Federation.  Plans 
were  explained  frankly  and  fully  to  the  gov- 
ernment authorities,  and  not  the  slightest 
obstacle  was  placed  in  the  way.  The  Con- 
ference was  attended  by  leaders  of  the  Chris- 
tian forces  among  students  from  twenty-five 
different  nations.  Although  the  number  of 
delegates  was  limited  to  about  two  hundred, 
there  were  represented  among  them  over 
fifty  branches  of  Protestantism.  Besides 
these  there  came  Coptic  Christians  from  the 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      29 

Nile  Valley,  Syrian  Christians  from  the  Leba- 
non and  from  India,  Maronite  and  Roman 
Catholic  Christians  from  different  fields.  One 
of  the  strongest  delegations  was  that  of  Rus- 
sia, which  included  several  members  of  the 
Orthodox  Church.  The  other  autonomous 
Greek  Churches  of  Bulgaria,  Servia,  Ruma- 
nia and  Greece  were  represented.  Two  Bish- 
ops of  the  Greek  communities  in  Turkey  at- 
tended, and  the  Ecumenical  Patriarch  him- 
self manifested  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
Conference,  and  furthered  its  plans.  The  Ar- 
menian or  Gregorian  Church,  which  through 
its  faithful  witness  for  centuries  had  earned 
its  right  to  join  in  such  a  gathering,  was  rep- 
resented by  several  of  its  members. 

This  most  representative  conference  of  all 
branches  of  Christendom  was  permitted  to 
carry  forward  its  discussions  in  the  most  , 
open  manner.  Its  speakers  and  members'^ 
did  not  apologize  for  their  religion.  They 
Get  forth  constructively  the  meaning  of  Chris- 
tianity and  its  world  program.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  conference  sessions,  there 
were  held  every  night  in  the  six  largest  halls 


30      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

obtainable  in  different  parts  of  Stamboul 
and  Pera,  meetings  for  the  educated  and  in- 
fluential classes — in  one  hall  in  the  Armenian 
language,  in  one  in  Turkish,  in  another  in 
German,  in  two  places  in  French,  and  in  still 
another  in  English.  In  these  meetings  pow- 
erful apologetic  lectures  and  persuasive  evan- 
gelistic appeals  were  given  by  professors  and 
Christian  workers  from  Germany,  Britain 
and  America,  and  their  more  formal  ad- 
dresses were  confirmed  by  testimonies  given 
by  delegates  from  Europe,  Asia  and  North 
America.  The  halls  were  thronged  by  Mos- 
lems and  Jews,  as  well  as  by  members  of  the 
Eastern  Churches. 

Shortly  before  the  time  for  my  departure 
from  Constantinople  a  deputation  waited 
upon  me  and  urged  me  to  hold  before 
leaving  at  least  one  meeting  near  the  great 
Moslem  University  in  Stamboul  with  its 
eight  thousand  students.  As  my  time  was 
very  limited,  I  had  to  assign  for  the  purpose 
a  somewhat  unsatisfactory  hour  on  the  last 
evening  of  my  visit.  A  large  hall  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  University  was  secured,  and 


OPENNESS  AND  llESrONSlVENESS      31 

when  I  arrived  to  give  my  address,  I  found 
the  hall  packed  to  suffocation — not  only 
every  seat  and  standing  place  being  taken, 
even  on  the  platform,  but  also  in  the  hallways 
and  neighboring  rooms  witliin  the  range  of 
the  sound  of  my  voice.  When  I  reached  the 
place  where  I  could  see  the  audience,  I  noticed 
that  many  present  wore  green  turbans.  The 
interpreter  told  me  that  these  were  the  most 
fanatical  of  the  Mohammedan  theological 
students.  I  feared  there  might  be  serious 
difficulty,  for  my  theme  held  up  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  only  Savior,  but  in  no  land  have  I  had 
more  intense  and  respectful  attention.  At 
the  close  of  the  address,  although  I  wished  to 
hasten  away  to  meet  another  very  late  ap- 
pointment, I  was  held  for  nearly  an  hour  by 
eager  inquirers  who  pressed  upon  me  with 
their  questions  which  involved  spiritual  issues 
of  life  and  death.  So  profoundly  was  I  im- 
pressed^with  the  ripeness  of  this  critically  im- 
portant field,  that  I  have  since  done  all  I 
could  to  facilitate  the  sending  to  these  stu- 
dents of  other  Christian  messengers.  Leading 
apologetic  lecturers  and  evangelists,  such  as 


^^ 


32      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Professor  Allier  of  Paris,  Mr.  Sherwood  Eddy 
and  Mr.  Robert  Wilder,  have,  during  the 
last  three  years,  had  still  more  remarkable 
experiences  among  them.  In  other  student 
centers  of  Turkey  there  have  been  similar 
evidences  of  the  marked  widening  of  oppor- 
tunity among  Moslems. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  more  recent  past  a 
serious  reaction  has  set  in.  Many  facts  of  a 
discouraging  nature  might  be  given,  but 
against  the  most  unfavorable  considerations 
and  circumstances  there  should  be  set  in  con- 
trast certain  facts  which  did  not  exist  at  the 
time  of  my  first  visit  nearly  twenty  years  ago. 
For  example,  it  is  now  possible  for  Christians 
to  travel  freely  in  all  parts  of  the  Empire. 
Christian  conferences  and  conventions  may 
now  be  held.  Scores  of  periodicals  are  now 
published  which  were  not  then  permitted, 
and  an  increasing  volume  of  Christian  litera- 
ture is  being  circulated  and  read.  PubHc 
evangelistic  meetings  may  be  held  in  nearly 
every  important  center,  and  Mohammedans 
may  freely  attend  them.  More  wonderful 
still.  Christian  organizations  of  students  and 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      33 

other  classes  may  now  be  formed,  and  not 
infrequently  Mohammedans  identify  them- 
selves with  these  as  members.  Within  a  year 
the  Christian  Student  Movement,  embracing 
both  men's  and  women's  sections,  has  been 
perfected  and  related  to  similar  movements  in 
other  lands.  Facts  like  these  far  more  than 
counterbalance  the  most  adverse  and  dis- 
appointing aspects  of  the  present  situation, 
and  clearly  show  that  within  half  a  generation 
truly  marvelous  progress  has  been  made. 
It  is^not  without  its  advantages  that  the  ad- 
vance of  the  cause  of  Christ  in  Turkey  is 
attended  with  very  great  difficulties.  It  re- 
quires fiery  trials  to  test  men  and  to  strengthen 
them.  Church  history  proves  that  Chris- 
tianity advances  best  in  the  face  of  opposi- 
tion. This  is  the  ground  of  confidence  that 
the  Christian  religion  in  its  most  vital  form 
is  destined  soon  to  achieve  in  Turkey  even 
more  notable  victories. 

On  my  first  visit  to  North  Africa  about 
twenty  years  ago  it  proved  to  be  impracti- 
cable to  gain  access  to  ^lohammedan  stu- 
dents in  Cairo,  the  great  educational  capital 


34      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

of  the  Moslem  world.  I  had  to  confine 
my  efforts  in  Egypt  to  meetings  with  the 
Coptic  and  Protestant  Christian  students. 
Returning  to  that  land  three  years  ago,  I 
raised  the  question  whether  I  might  not  give 
lectures  on  the  power  and  claims  of  Christ  to 
the  Moslem  and  other  Egyptian  students. 
Representatives  of  Government  and  even 
some  of  the  missionaries,  while  admitting 
that  such  meetings  might  be  held,  advised 
against  holding  them  on  the  ground  that  they 
might  stir  up  the  spirit  of  fanaticism.  Some 
of  the  more  sympathetic  Christian  leaders 
were  amazed  at  the  plan  proposed,  which  was 
to  secure  for  the  meetings  the  Abbas  Theater, 
the  largest  in  Egypt.  As  a  theatrical  com- 
pany had  engaged  the  place  for  each  night, 
it  was  necessary  to  hold  our  meetings  at  a 
very  unfavorable  hour  in  the  afternoon  fol- 
lowing the  university  work  of  the  day.  Not- 
withstanding this  fact,  the  large  theater, 
which  accommodates  twenty-five  hundred, 
was  overcrowded  every  afternoon,  and  after 
the  first  day  it  became  necessary  to  have  the 
help  of  the  police  to  control  the  crowds  of 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      39 

students  on  the  outside  who  were  striving  to 
gain  admittance. 

Day  after  day  I  sought  to  set  forth,  posi- 
tively and  without  equivocation,  the  truth 
as  it  is  found  in  Christ,  but  without  making 
any  attack  upon  Mohammedanism.  Atten- 
tion  was  fixed  upon  the  Hving  Christ.  On 
the  last  afternoon,  when  the  time  came  to 
give  up  the  theater  because  of  the  play,  I  had 
not  finished,  and  observing  the  close  and 
solemn  attention  of  the  multitude  present,  I 
felt  that  I  could  not  leave  them  without 
leading  them  further  into  the  truth.  The 
audience  was  composed  largely  of  Moham- 
medan students  and  unbelievers  from  the 
government  colleges.  I  put  to  them  this  in- 
vitation: ''Those  of  you  who  would  like  to 
believe  in  the  deity  of  Jesus  Christ,  if  you 
could  do  so  with  intellectual  honesty,  meet 
me  as  soon  as  possible  at  the  hall  of  the 
American  Mission."  Hastening  through  the 
crowded  Cairo  streets  to  the  appointed  place 
I  found,  to  my  surprise,  the  hall  filled  with 
students  who  had  come  in  response  to  this 
invitation.     There  we  spent  a  momentous   i 


36     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

hour — an  hour  such  as  men  have  when  none 
are  present  through  idle  curiosity,  but  be- 
cause of  an  earnest  and  sincere  desire  to  re- 
ceive help  greater  than  their  own.  We  had 
indubitable  evidences  of  the  presence  and 
working  of  the  Spirit  of  Almighty  God.  Dis- 
cussions conducted  by  such  skilful  Christian 
workers  as  Mr.  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner  and  Dr. 
S.  M.  Zwemer  during  the  last  year,  show 
that  the  inviting  door  of  this  intellectual 
Mohammedan  center  is  still  wide  open. 

My  first  visit  to  the  student  field  of  India 
lasted  through  the  four  months  of  the  cold 
season  of  1895-96.  Conferences  and  public 
meetings  were  held  in  all  the  university 
cities.  These  resulted  in  the  formation  of 
several  Christian  Associations.  In  connec- 
tion with  the  evangelistic  meetings  only  a 
few  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  students  were 
led  to  become  investigators  of  Christianity* 
none  of  them,  I  think,  confessed  Christ  dur- 
ing my  visit,  although  it  was  a  source  of  joy 
to  learn  that  two  or  three  subsequently  be- 
came Christians.  Even  these  small  begin- 
nings in  that  most  difficult  student  field  of 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      37 

the  world,  the  home  of  non-Christian  rehg- 
ions,  sent  me  on  my  way  greatly  encouraged. 
On  my  return  to  India  with  Mr.  Sherwood 
Eddy  two  years  ago,  I  found  a  vastly  enlarged 
opportunity.  Again  the  tour  embraced  the 
five  great  university  centers — Madras,  Bom- 
bay, Lahore,  Allahabad  and  Calcutta.  In 
every  place  the  largest  theater  or  haU  we 
could  obtain  was  filled  to  overflowing  with 
students.  Here  were  audiences  of  crowded 
ranks  of  Hindus,  Mohammedans,  Buddhists, 
Parsees,  as  well  as  agnostics  and  adherents 
of  various  eclectic  systems.  Little  bands  of 
Christians  were  scattered  among  them. 
Every  meeting  constituted  a  conflict  so  great 
that  at  its  close  we  went  away  completely 
exhausted.  In  Madras  one  Sunday  afternoon 
it  seemed  as  if  everything  were  going  against 
us.  Many  were  hissing  at  the  mention  of  the 
name  of  Christ.  Groups  of  students  had 
stationed  themselves  in  different  parts  of  the 
room  to  create  disturbance  and  thus  break  up 
the  meeting.  At  a  critical  stage  I  noticed 
several  men  leave  the  meeting  and  feared 
that  the  break-up  of  the  meeting  was  im- 


38      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

minent.  But  in  a  few  moments  there  came  a 
hush  upon  the  vast,  tumultuous  assembly, 
and,  as  Christ  the  living  Lord  was  exalted 
in  the  closing  appeal,  one  was  distinctly  con- 
scious that  His  Spirit  was  moving  mightily 
upon  the  consciences  and  hearts  of  men. 
Some  months  later  we  learned  the  secret  of 
the  marked  manifestation  of  superhuman 
power.  Those  who  had  gone  out  of  the  meet- 
ing were  some  earnest  Christian  students 
who  went  behind  the  stage  and  fell  upon 
their  faces  before  God  in  fervent  interces- 
sion. Then  we  understood  that  Christ  had 
again  stilled  the  tempest. 

During  the  absorbing  series  of  evangelistic 
campaigns  in  those  few  crowded  weeks,  hun- 
dreds of  the  keenest  students  of  non-Chris- 
tian faiths  decided  to  make  a  study  of  Christ 
and  His  teachings.  This  does  not  mean  that 
they  became  converts.  It  does  mean,  how- 
ever, that  they  determined  to  investigate  the 
claims  of  Christ,  and  this  with  an  openness  of 
mind  and  a  sincerity  of  purpose  which,  when 
all  the  difficulties  that  surround  them  are 
taken  into  consideration,  puts  to  shame  the 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      39 

indifferent,  easy-going  and  cynical  students 
in  favored  Western  lands.  Here  and  there  a 
few  individuals  among  all  these  investigators 
have  since  made  an  open  profession  by 
baptism.  At  the  close  of  our  tour  in  India 
a  conference  of  Christian  students  from 
seventy  colleges  of  all  parts  of  India  and 
Ceylon  was  held  at  Serampore,  the  scene 
of  William  Carey's  remarkable  labors.  One 
evening  at  dusk  Bishop  Azariah,  who,  on  the 
preceding  Sunday  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
Calcutta,  had  been  consecrated  as  the  first 
Indian  Bishop,  baptized  two  Indian  students 
who  had  become  inquirers  in  our  meetings  in 
Calcutta.  This  took  place  in  the  Hooghly 
River  at  the  very  spot  where  a  hundred  years 
before,  William  Carey,  after  seven  years  of  " 
service,  had  baptized  his  first  low-caste  con- 
vert. It  means  far  more  for  a  few  Hindus 
and  Mohammedans  in  India  to  take  such  a/'  »^ 
step  than  it  would  for  a  thousand  agnostics  , 
in  the  great  universities  of  America  or  Eu- 
rope to  make  a  public  profession  of  faith  in 
Christ. 

All  over  India  to-day,  not  simply  scores 

4 


40      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

or  hundreds  but  thousands  of  the  educated 
classes  are  secret  inquirers.  They  have  been 
intellectually  convinced  and  their  hearts 
have  been  deeply  moved,  as  a  result  of  the 
faithful  and  self-denying  work  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. What  is  needed  is  the  additional 
impulse  which  will  come  when  the  Church 
of  the  West  recovers  and  utilizes  the  gift  of 
intercession.  The  time  is  at  hand  in  the 
Indian  Empire  to  secure  great  results  from 
the  siege  work  which  has  been  going  on  there 
for  so  many  years.  This  siege  work  has  been 
beyond  all  praise.  We  should  thank  God 
for  workers  with  that  highest  type  of  heroism 
which  is  willing  to  live  and,  if  need  be,  to 
die  doing  siege  work.  Such  workers  are  as 
much  to  be  honored  and  envied  as  are  those 
who  actually  see  the  walls  fall.  The  Japanese 
who  did  the  mining  and  countermining  at 
Port  Arthur  as  truly  helped  to  achieve  the 
wonderful  victory  as  did  those  who  finally 
swept  into  the  fortress. 

Buddhism  in  its  purest  and  most  aggres- 
sive form  is  found  in  Burma  and  Ceylon.  It 
means  much,  therefore,  that  both  in  Ran- 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      41 

goon  and  in  Colombo,  the  principal  student 
centers  of  these  two  fascinating  countries, 
the  largest  halls  were  required  to  hold  the 
Buddhist  students  who  came  together  to 
Usten  to  addresses  setting  forth  the  unique 
sufficiency  of  Christ  to  meet  the  deepest 
needs  of  men  and  nations.  In  these  places, 
as  in  the  Indian  cities,  hundreds  were  led 
to  form  the  purpose  to  study  Christ  and 
to  obey  His  truth.  Several  of  their  number 
have  since  pressed  on  to  baptism.  There 
seems  to  be  no  limit  to  the  range  of  oppor- 
tunity for  wise  evangelistic  effort  in  these 
fields.  When  one  remembers  the  heroic  la- 
bors and  sacrifices  of  the  early  and  later 
missionaries  in  Burma,  one  understands  how 
unprecedented  modern  ingatherings  have 
been  made  possible.  Ceylon  presents  a  pe- 
culiar appeal  to  the  imagination  and  to  sac- 
rificing devotion.  It  is  inspiring  to  recall 
that  centuries  ago,  from  this  little  island  as 
a  fountain  head  and  propagating  center  of 
Buddhism,  there  went  forth  thousands  of 
Buddhist  missionaries  to  storm  the  entire 
Asiatic   coast.     Their  missionary  zeal  goes 


42      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

far  to  explain  the  fact  that  Buddhism  to-day 
has  more  adherents  than  has  any  other  re- 
ligion. 
^..-^^  On  the  occasion  of  my  first  journey  around 
the  world,  I  did  not  visit  Korea,  because  at 
that  time  it  had  no  students  in  the  modern 
sense.  This  was  also  true  at  the  time  of  my 
second  world  tour.  When  I  went  for  the 
third  time  to  the  Far  East,  a  brief  visit  was 
made  to  the  capital,  Seoul,  in  connection  with 
which  a  memorable  gathering  of  thousands  of 
the  most  influential  classes  of  Korean  men 
was  held  in  Independence  Hall  outside  the 
city  wall.  The  results  achieved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  that  winter  afternoon,  when  over  two 
hundred  strong  men  accepted  Christ,  con- 
stituted in  itself  a]  convincing  evidence  of 
Christianity,  and  revealed  the  marvelous 
character  of  the  opportunity  in  Korea.  On 
returning  to  the  country  nearly  two  years 
ago,  although  it  was  not  regarded  by  many  as 
a  favorable  time  owing  to  strained  relations 
between  the  races,  I  expressed  the  desire  to 
have  opportunity  to  proclaim  the  message 
of  Christ  to  the  more  progressive  classes  of 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      43 

Koreans.  A  large  tent  to  accommodate  three 
thousand  was  pitched  for  the  purpose,  and 
night  after  night  it  was  densely  crowded  with 
the  very  men  we  most  desired  to  reach. 
The  last  of  these  meetings  continued  for 
three  hours,  and  after  the  workers  had  liter- 
ally driven  away  all  save  those  who  had 
signed  cards  indicating  that  they  were  serious 
inquirers,  three  hundred  of  these  noble  and 
lovable  Korean  men  confessed  their  alle- 
giance to  Christ  in  the  most  heroic  manner. 
While  there  has  recently  come  a  time  of 
severe  testing  in  this  land — an  experience 
never  without  its  great  refining  and  strength- 
ening influence — the  fact  should  not  be  lost 
sight  of  that  the  doors  of  Korea  are  still  wide 
open.  Beyond  question  this  can  be  made  a 
Christian  nation  if  the  Christian  Church  con- 
tinues to  make  the  most  of  its  advantage.  I 
came  away  from  Korea  believing  that  if  Chris- 
tianity were  to  die  out  in  America  and  Eu- 
rope, it  exists  with  such  vitality  in  Korea 
that  it  would  ultimately  spread  from  there 
to  our  shores  and  reestablish  itself.  ' 

When  I  first  visited  Japan  in  1896-97,  I 


44     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

met  with  a  good  reception  and  helped  to 
plant  the  Christian  Student  Movement  both 
in  government  and  in  missionary  colleges. 
During  a  period  of  three  months  filled  with 
meetings,  some  two  hundred  Japanese  stu- 
dents were  led  to  become  inquirers.  Similar 
encouragement  attended  a  second  visit  near- 
ly five  years  later.  My  third  visit  was  made 
in  connection  with  the  Conference  of  the 
World's  Student  Christian  Federation  in 
1907.  At  that  time  international  deputa- 
tions of  Christian  leaders  preached  the  Gos- 
pel to  the  educated  classes  in  virtually  every 
student  community  of  the  Empire,  and  large 
numbers  were  led  to  become  Christian  dis- 
ciples. Many  wondered  whether  there  would 
ever  recur  such  an  opportunity,  but  last  year 
the  doors  were  found  to  be  even  wider  open 
than  ever.  Wherever  I  went  the  halls  and 
churches  were  overcrowded  with  eager  lis- 
teners, and  seldom  was  a  meeting  held  in 
which  less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  students 
decided  to  become  inquirers.  A  larger  pro- 
portion of  those  present  at  the  different 
meetings  became  inquirers  than  in  similar 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      45 

meetings  held  among  the  educated  classes  in 
any  other  land. 

Someone  asked  me  to  mention  the  most 
remarkable  single  experience  of  my  recent 
tour  throughout  the  Orient  and  I  answered 
that,  were  one  to  judge  by  the  character  of 
the  difficulties  overcome,  by  the  maturity 
and  intelligence  of  those  influenced,  and  by 
the  proportion  of  persons  who  were  reached,  I 
would  mention  the  meeting  held  the  last 
night  of  the  visit  in  Tokyo.  It  took  place 
in  the  Canadian  Mission  Tabernacle,  because 
that  was  the  largest  available  haU  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Imperial  University.  Every 
place  was  taken,  chiefly  by  students  of  the 
University  and  the  First  Koto  Gakko.  As 
is  generally  known,  the  Imperial  University 
is  the  keystone  of  the  Japanese  educational 
arch  and  one  of  the  most  influential  univer- 
sities in  the  world.  It  has  over  five  thou- 
sand students,  and  these  in  the  West  would 
be  characterized  as  graduate  students.  Their 
average  age  must  be  at  least  twenty-five. 
Nearly  all  of  the  professors  are  men  of  marked 
attainments    who    have    taken    degrees    in 


46      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

American  or  European  universities.  The  in- 
fluence of  this  institution  is  felt  throughout 
the  Asiatic  world  and  is  increasingly  recog- 
nized in  the  West.  In  the  meeting  that 
night,  lasting  four  hours,  I  gave  through  an 
interpreter  four  addresses.  At  the  close  370 
men,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  were 
, .  among  the  most  mature  and  advanced  stu- 
///  dents,  indicated  their  purpose  to  study  the 

J  original  writings  of  Christianity,  to  pray  for 
wisdom  and  courage  to  discover  and  obey 
the  truth,  and,  when  convinced  of  the  truth, 
to  follow  Christ.  This  stands  out  as  another 
evidence  that  Christ  lives  and  is  able  to 
manifest  Himself  and  to  overcome  language 
difficulties,  intellectual  pride  and  racial  mis- 
understandings. If  He  be  lifted  up,  He 
draws  men,  whether  they  are  educated  or 
illiterate,  whether  they  are  in  the  East  or  in 

?        the  West. 

■  ^M^    When  I  first  visited  China,  in  the  year 
"  1896, 1  became  deeply  interested  in  the  prob- 
lem of  reaching  the  literati,  the  ancient  and 
influential  scholar  class  from  whose  ranks 
for  two  thousand  years  had  come  the  l^^ders 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      47 

of  the  nation.  When  the  question  was  raised 
as  to  whether  I  might  not  gain  access  to  the 
hterati,  missionaries  told  me  that  we  would 
never  live  to  see  the  day  when  they  would 
be  accessible  to  Christian  effort.  In  report- 
ing onjthe  student  field  of  China  at  that  time, 
therefore,  I  characterized  the  Chinese  literati 
as  the  Gibraltar  of  the  student  world,  by 
which  was  meant  an  impregnable  position. 
Five  years  later,  on  revisiting  the  country,  H 
a  long  day  was  spent  with  the  presidents  of 
seventeen  missionary  colleges  discussing  the 
problem  of  reaching  the  literati.  At  last  we 
came  to  the  reluctant  conclusion  that  all  that 
could  be  done  would  be  to  cultivate  here  and 
there  personal  relations  with  these  scholars 
in  their  homes,  and  also  once  a  year  to  stand 
at  the  gates  where  the  scholars  stream  out 
at  the  end  of  their  examinations  and  hand  to 
them  Christian  literature.  As  for  assembling 
the  literati  and  thus  having  opportunity  to 
influence  them  collectively  or  to  draw  them 
into  any  organization,  that  was  deemed  to 
be  quite  hopeless. 
Again,  five  years  later  still,  as  I  traveled    i  0. 


48      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

over  the  Chinese  Empire,  I  found  that  the 
walls  of  Jericho  had  begun  to  crumble.  In 
some  places  I  could  look  through,  and  here 
and  there  I  could  reach  through  and  clasp 
hands  with  those  splendid  representatives 
of  educated  China,  both  the  ancient  and 
modern  literati.  In  exceptional  cases  it  was 
possible  to  bring  them  together  in  meetings 
where  I  could  appeal  to  them  on  behalf  of 
Christ.  In  contrast  with  aU  this,  even  these 
promising  beginnings,  stand  the  almost  un- 
believable incidents  connected  with  the  visit 
made  last  year. 

When  I  reached  Hongkong  a  deputation 
from  Canton  met  me  and  stated  that  they 
had  hired  the  largest  theater  in  the  country, 
a  building  holding  thirty-five  hundred  people, 
for  the  student  mass  meetings  to  be  held  in 
that  gateway  city  of  South  China.  When 
I  asked  them  why  they  had  not  arranged  to 
begin  the  work  in  a  smaller  hall  they  chal- 
lenged me  to  wait  and  see.  On  going  to  the 
appointed  place  before  the  advertised  hour 
for  the  opening  meeting,  the  streets  adjoining 
the  theater  were  found  thronged  with  stu- 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      49 

dents,  and  we  were  told  that  every  place  in 
the  theater  was  already  taken.  On  the  plat- 
form were  seated  some  fifty  leading  Chinese 
officials  of  the  Province,  most  of  whom  had 
studied  in  Japan  or  America.  They  had 
come  to  show  in  the  most  conspicuous  way 
their  sympathy  with  the  purpose  of  the 
meetings.  One  night  the  chair  was  taken  by 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  an- 
other night  by  the  Premier,  and  the  next 
night  by  the  Commissioner  of  Education. 
Each  evening  I  gave  two  or  three  extended 
addresses,  the  meetings  lasting  three  hours 
and  a  half.  Over  seven  hundred  students 
and  teachers  became  inquirers,  one-fourth  of 
whom  have  been  baptized  and  have  been  re- 
ceived into  the  Churches,  a  larger  proportion 
than  usually  take  this  step  in  connection  with 
similar  efforts  in  universities  of  the  West. 

The  next  campaign  took  place  at  Tsinanfu, 
the  capital  of  the  Shantung  Province,  the 
Sacred  Province  of  Confucius  and  IVIencius. 
In  this  most  conservative  part  of  China  the 
living  God  manifested  His  presence  and 
power.    The  Governor  of  the  Province,  who 


50      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

was  not  a  Christian,  granted  the  use  of  the 
Parliament  building  for  the  evangehstic  meet- 
ings. As  it  was  not  equipped  for  lighting,  we 
met  in  the  afternoons.  Although  here  as  in 
the  other  centers  the  audiences  were  very 
large  and  representative,  conditions  were 
pecuHarly  difficult.  It  was  noteworthy, 
therefore,  that  at  the  end  of  the  final 
meeting,  notwithstanding  very  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, over  five  hundred  men  had  an- 
nounced their  purpose  to  become  investiga- 
tors of  Christian  truth.  The  meeting  had 
lasted  long  and  night  was  falling.  Per- 
mission was  given  to  bring  in  a  few  can- 
dles. It  was  deeply  impressive  to  see  the 
faces  of  these  stalwart  leaders  of  the  new 
China  as  they  rose  in  covenant  and  bowed 
themselves  for  the  first  time  before  the 
Jehovah  of  the  Bible.  When,  exhausted,  I 
went  to  my  room  that  night  I  marveled  at 
the  unmistakable  proof  of  God's  living  power, 
but  could  not  understand  it  until  I  recalled 
the  fact  that  this  very  Sunday  was  the 
Universal  Day  of  Prayer  for  Students,  and 
that  in  over  forty  countries  earnest  bands 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      51 

of  Christian  students  were  remembering  in 
special  prayer  this  campaign,  as  well  as  the 
work  of  Christ  among  students  in  other 
lands. 

In  Peking  a  Buddhist  temple  had  been 
secured  and  enlarged  so  that  it  would  ac- 
commodate three  thousand.  Although  the 
weather  was  bitterly  cold  the  students  and 
teachers  came  long  distances  from  the  col- 
leges in  all  parts  of  the  great  city  and  packed 
the  place.  Here  some  six  hundred  or  more 
were  influenced  to  start  in  the  path  for  the 
discovery  of  Christ.  They  were  subjected  to 
a  hard  test  when  they  were  asked  to  assemble 
in  the  Association  building,  three  miles  dis- 
tant, for  a  farewell  meeting;  but  among  those 
who  came  four  hundred  indicated  their  def- 
inite acceptance  of  Christ  as  their  personal 
Lord  and  Savior. 

While  I  was  in  Peking,  the  Scotch,  Irish 
and  Danish  missionaries  of  Manchuria  came 
to  tell  me  that  I  would  make  a  great  mistake 
were  I  to  leave  China  without  visiting  Muk- 
den, the  capital  of  that  Province.  Not  with- 
out difficulty,  adjustments  were  made  in  my 


52      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

program  which  enabled  me  to  spend  a 
week-end  there.  The  Governor,  a  member 
of  the  ancient  hterati  class  and  not  a  Chris- 
tian, learning  of  the  intended  visit,  said  that 
Mukden  had  no  hall  large  enough  to  hold  the 
government  students  who  should  attend 
these  lectures  on  Christianity.  When  this 
word  was  reported  to  me  I  telegraphed  the 
committee  in  Mukden  to  erect  a  large  pavil- 
ion. The  Governor  hearing  of  this  said,  ''We 
will  not  let  this  gentleman  and  his  friends 
build  the  pavilion — I  will  build  it."  From 
his  private  means  he  gave  the  money  to 
erect  a  structure  which  would  hold  five  thou- 
sand. He  then  ordered  that  the  colleges  be 
closed,  and  that  the  students  and  professors 
attend  the  meetings.  They  came  in  such 
numbers  that  the  place  was  filled  to  its  outer 
limits,  every  seat  and  standing  place  being 
occupied.  At  each  meeting  I  gave  three 
evangelistic  addresses,  and  by  the  end  of 
the  series,  six  hundred  had  signed  cards 
making  the  three  following  promises: 

(1)  I  will  make  a  conscientious  study  of  the 
four  Gospels;   and,  that  I  may  do  this  to  the  best 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      53 

advantage,  I  will  meet  for  one  hour  each  week  with 
others  who  are  making  the  same  investigation. 

(2)  I  will  pray  daily  to  the  holy  God  for  wis- 
dom to  find  the  truth,  and  for  courage  to  follow  it 
after  I  have  discovered  it, 

(3)  When  my  reason  and  conscience  permit  me 
to  do  so,  I  will  take  Christ  as  my  Savior  and  Lord. 

They  were  not  given  opportunity  to  sign 
the  cards  until  after  I  had  spent  over  half 
an  hour  in  explaining  several  times  the  mean- 
ing of  these  three  promises.  As  I  was  giving 
the  inquirers  some  parting  instructions,  the 
Commissioner  of  Education  of  the  Province, 
who  had  a  seat  on  the  platform  through- 
out all  the  meetings,  rose  and  asked  the  priv- 
ilege of  speaking  to  the  inquirers.  As  he  was 
not  a  Christian,  I  was  surprised  when  the  in- 
terpreter told  me  that  he  had  earnestly  ex- 
horted them  to  keep  the  three  promises,  and 
had  expressed  the  hope  that  were  I  to  re- 
visit Manchuria  I  would  not  find  that  any 
of  them  had  turned  their  backs  upon  their 
resolutions. 

While  I  was  having  these  striking  ex- 
periences in  Canton,  Tsinanfu,  Peking  and 


; 


\ 


54      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Mukden,  Mr.  Sherwood  Eddy  had  quite  as 
noteworthy  results  in  other  cities;  in  fact,  it 
may  be  questioned  whether  there  have  ever 
been  such  fruitful  evangelistic  efforts  among 
students  in  China  as  those  put  forth  in 
Tientsin  and  Foochow.  Mr.  Eddy  is  at  the 
present  time  contemplating  the  conduct  of 
a  far  more  extensive  campaign  throughout 
China,  and,  great  as  was  the  opportunity 
last  year,  it  seems  likely  to  be  far  greater 
this  year. 

Facts  such  as  those  here  set  forth  could  be 
greatly  multiplied  not  only  with  reference  to 
the  countries  touched  in  this  review  and  con- 
trast but  also  regarding  many  other  parts  of 
the  wide  world  field.  They  demonstrate  that 
the  cause  of  the  Christian  religion  is  entering 
upon  a  new  age.  Old  things  are  passing 
away;  all  things  are  becoming  new.  The 
non-Christian  nations  are  indeed  wide  open. 
They  are  more  accessible  than  ever.  Their 
fields  are  dead  ripe.  They  are  ready  for  the 
sickle.  The  time  has  come  to  reap  on  a  scale 
which  transcends  anything  hitherto  at- 
tempted.   The  plans  of  the  Kingdom  must  be 


OPENNESS  AND  RESPONSIVENESS      55 

greatly  widened.  The  leaders  of  the  aggres-  \ 
sive  forces  of  the  Christian  religion  must 
grapple  with  the  present  marvelous  world 
situation  in  a  truly  statesmanlike  way,  and 
in  complete  reliance  on  their  superhuman  re- 
sources. 


THE  NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  IN 
CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 


Ill 

THE  NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  IN 
CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

A  writer  in  the  London  Spectator  stimu- 
lates profitable  reflection  by  expressing  the 
opinion  that  there  is  "one  feature  in  the 
present  aspect  of  the  world  which  is  most 
unusual,  and  that  is  the  contrast  between  the 
magnitude  of  events  occurring  all  around  us, 
and  the  smallness,  or  rather,  the  second- 
rateness  of  the  men  supposed  to  guide  them." 
The  question  thus  raised  might  well  be  con- 
sidered in  every  calling  and  in  every  country. 
While  the  great  enterprise  of  the  world-wide 
extension  of  Christianity  has  afforded  pos- 
sibly as  many  illustrations  of  able  leadership 
and  true  statesmanship  as  any  other  sphere 
of  human  activity,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
there  is  to-day  a  demand  for  a  far  larger 
exercise  of  these  gifts. 

Statesmen  are  needed  in   the  sphere  of       J- 

Christian  missions  in  order  to  enlarge  the 

59 


60     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

plans.  The  enormous  widening  of  oppor- 
tunity which  has  come  in  recent  years  on 
almost  every  mission  field  calls  for  a  great 
enlargement  of  the  plans  of  occupation. 
Within  a  few  years  literally  hundreds  of 
millions  of  people  have  been  brought  within 
easy  reach  of  the  forces  of  Christianity.  The 
same  improved  means  of  communication 
which  have  accomplished  this  result  have 
likewise  exposed  multitudes  to  the  evil  in- 
fluences of  Western  civilization  and  have 
facilitated  the  further  spread  of  the  non- 
Christian  religions.  Statesmanlike  planning 
is  essential  if  the  Church  is  to  measure  up  to 
an  opportunity  unmatched  in  all  her  history. 
The  great  growth  of  the  missionary  movement 
itself  calls  for  both  expansion  and  adaptation. 
The  Christian  Church  has  far  greater  num- 
bers now  than  a  generation  ago;  likewise 
many  more  points  of  contact  and  avenues 
of  influence  with  non-Christian  peoples,  and 
therefore  vastly  greater  forces  are  to  be 
wielded.  The  stupendous  changes,  pohtical, 
social,  economic  and  educational,  which 
have  taken  place  in  non-Christian  countries 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  61 

make  wise  and  necessary  a  revision  of  plans 
in  nearly  every  field.  Many  believe  the 
hour  has  struck  for  a  truly  universal  mis- 
sionary activity.  The  policy  for  such  an 
age  as  ours  must  be  imperial  to  be  truly 
Christian.  In  the  terms  of  the  world,  the 
work  of  Christian  missions  is  empire  building, 
and  demands  imperial  ideas  and  resources. 
The  larger  plans  so  imperatively  demanded 
should  also  reach  much  further  into  the 
future.  Few  Churches  and  Missions  are 
planning  their  work  with  reference  to  the 
inevitable  demands  of  even  the  next  ten 
years.  Missionary  policy  has  been  influenced 
far  too  much  by  emergencies  and  sudden 
crises,  and  not  sufficiently  by  the  far  view. 

There  is  need  also  of  statesmanlike  leader- 
ship in  order  to  improve  missionary  strategy, 
for  here  also  there  is  a  painful  lack.  When 
there  is  so  much  to  do  a  paramount  question 
is:  Where  at  the  present  moment  is  the 
strengthening  of  the  missionary  force  most 
important  and  most  urgently  required? 
Where  the  greatest  battle  is  to  be  fought, 
there  the  greatest  force  should  be  concen- 


62      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

trated.  One  such  field  is  obviously  that  part 
of  Africa  where  we  are  witnessing  the  most 
vigorous  Moslem  advance.  In  each  mission 
field  there  is  need  of  restudying  the  question 
of  the  wisest  distribution  of  the  forces  in  the 
light  of  the  principles  of  strategy.  The 
special  studies  conducted  by  the  Christian 
leaders  in  Japan  during  the  last  two  or  three 
years,  indicate  the  great  advantages  of  such 
a  policy.  It  is  believed  that  similar  investi- 
gations and  resultant  changes  in  policy 
would  be  equally  rewarding  in  other  fields. 
The  time  has  come  to  lay  plans  upon  such  a 
scale  and  to  direct  strategy  on  such  lines  as 
are  worthy  of  Christian  leaders  who  expect 
to  conquer  a  world. 

Statesmanship  is  required  to  develop  a 
type  of  evangelistic  work  adapted  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  various  non-Christian  coun- 
tries. The  cause  of  Christian  education  has 
properly  commanded  the  best  thought  of  an 
increasing  number  of  missionaries  and  of  mis- 
sionary administrators,  but  the  evangelistic 
work  stands  quite  as  much  in  need  of  having 
bestowed  upon  it  much  original  and  con- 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  63 

structive  thinking.  Recent  experiences  in 
China  reveal  the  great  possibilities  of  con- 
centrating the  thought  of  leaders  on  methods 
of  preparing  for,  conducting  and  following 
up  evangelistic  campaigns  calculated  to  reach 
the  most  influential  classes  as  well  as  the 
masses.  The  three-years'  evangelistic  cam- 
paign recently  launched  in  Japan,  and  in 
which  virtually  all  the  Christian  forces  are 
uniting,  is  a  splendid  illustration  of  truly 
statesmanlike  conception  and  plan,  and 
should  stimulate  leaders  in  other  fields  to 
larger  undertakings.  There  is  admittedly 
great  need  of  multiplying  the  number  of  well- 
quahfied  apologetic  lecturers,  preachers  and 
writers  who  will  present  the  claims  of  Christ 
and  His  program  in  terms  which  will  com- 
mand the  intellectual  confidence  of  educated 
and  thinking  men.  It  will  require  construc- 
tive thinking  to  work  out  and  secure  the  ac- 
ceptance of  plans  which  will  not  only  make 
possible  the  discovery  and  training  of  these 
much-needed  workers,  but  will  also  release 
them  from  other  responsibilities  and  place 
them  where  they  can  render  this  great  service. 


64      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

To  frame  and  carry  out  a  policy  for  reach- 
ing the  outcastes  and  the  depressed  masses 
demands  statesmanHke  plan  and  effort.  This 
problem  is  a  very  extensive  one,  involving 
many  scores  of  millions  of  people.  It  would  be 
difl&cult  to  overstate  the  urgency  of  putting 
into  operation  plans  more  nearly  adequate 
for  reaching  these  neglected  millions.  Take, 
for  example,  the  more  than  fifty  millions  of 
''untouchables"  in  India.  Within  a  genera- 
tion they  are  to  be  absorbed  by  Hinduism, 
Mohammedanism  and  Christianity.  At  the 
National  Conference,  held  in  Calcutta  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Continuation  Committee 
in  December,  1912,  it  was  brought  out  con- 
clusively that  a  really  thorough  work  among 
these  depressed  classes  exerts  a  profound  and 
favorable  influence  on  the  upper  classes.  In- 
creasing experience  has  shown  that  wherever 
there  is  a  so-called  mass  movement,  the 
Christian  forces  should  be  strengthened  in 
order  to  deal  with  it  promptly. 

To  establish  and  develop  indigenous 
Churches  and  at  the  same  time  to  relate  them 
to  the  Christian  Church  of  other  lands  affords 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  65 

a  field  for  the  highest  order  of  Christian 
statesmanship.  It  requires  rare  ability  to 
understand,  to  appreciate  and  to  foster  in- 
digenous thought,  customs  and  talents,  to 
develop  from  the  beginning  native  initiative, 
leadership  and  sense  of  responsibility,  to  en- 
list and  train  native  ministers,  to  help  solve 
the  economic  problem  of  new  Churches,  and 
to  hold  these  rising  Churches  in  vital  union 
with  the  Christian  Church  of  other  lands. 

Men  of  large  gifts  and  furnishing  are 
needed  to  meet  the  Christian  educational 
opportunity  now  confronting  us  in  every  part 
of  the  non-Christian  world.  The  remarkable 
development  of  vast  secular  or  government 
educational  systems  in  the  Far  East  and  Near 
East,  as  well  as  in  other  mission  fields,  calls 
for  a  great  expansion  of  educational  missions 
and  for  an  able  leadership.  Think  of  the 
opportunities  in  China  alone  where  it  is  now 
possible  for  Christian  educationalists  to  influ- 
ence the  standards  of  government  education, 
as  well  as  those  of  mission  schools.  To  master 
even  the  elements  of  this  problem,  however, 
demands  nothing  less  than  statesmanship. 


66     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

In  the  realm  of  the  production  and  dis- 
tribution of  Christian  literature,  statesmen 
are  needed.  There  must  be  a  more  thorough 
study  than  any  hitherto  made  of  the  need  for 
literature  among  non-Christians  and  among 
members  of  Christian  communities.  Here 
also  should  be  mentioned  that  unsolved  mis- 
sionary problem  of  getting  competent  writers 
released  from  other  responsibilities,  relating 
them  to  the  work  of  literary  production,  and 
making  conditions  favorable  for  their  con- 
tinuance in  this  work  which  underlies  the 
largest  efficiency  and  fruitfulness  of  every 
other  phase  of  missionary  activity.  It  is  evi- 
dent also  that  much  more  comprehensive 
plans  must  be  devised  for  bringing  about 
desirable  unification  of  Christian  literature 
societies  in  the  different  fields,  just  as  has 
been  recently  accomplished  in  Japan.  This 
would  ensure  a  more  economical  and  effective 
arrangement  for  supplying  the  literature  now 
demanded  on  every  field. 

To  help  create  under  Christian  guidance 
the  medical  profession  for  nearly  two-thirds; 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  non-Christian  world 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  67 

can  be  accomplished  only  by  leading  minds. 
In  China,  for  example,  such  men  have  the 
opportunity  to  provide  a  system  for  educat- 
ing thousands  of  Chinese  doctors,  to  afford 
facilities  for  the  present  medical  missionary 
forces  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  on  the 
scientific  side  of  their  preparation,  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  the  two  hundred  or  more 
Christian  hospitals  scattered  throughout  the 
entire  country,  and  to  introduce  many  other 
agencies  and  institutions  for  the  physical 
amelioration  and  betterment  of  the  Chinese. 
In  this  connection  reference  is  made,  not  to 
the  work  of  the  medical  missionary  as  edu- 
cator, administrator  or  philanthropist,  but  to 
that  of  the  statesman  who  is  qualified  to 
widen  greatly  the  opportunity  of  all  these. 

To  help  solve  the  crushing  social  problems 
of  non-Christian  lands  there  must  be  mis- 
sionary statesmen.  The  non-Christian  na- 
tions are  honeycombed  with  social  evils,  and 
their  peoples  are  bearing  burdens  too  great 
to  be  borne.  These  evils  are  much  more  ex- 
tensive, and  are  intensively  more  obstinate 
than  the  similar  problems  which  press  upon 


68      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Christian  leaders  at  home.  Where,  for  ex- 
ample, on  the  home  field  is  there  a  social 
problem  comparable  to  that  of  caste  in  India? 
Where  in  the  West  is  woman's  lot  so  sad  and 
hopeless  as  it  is  throughout  the  Moham- 
medan world?  On  the  mission  field,  as  well 
as  in  Christian  lands,  pure  Christianity  is 
the  only  hope  for  the  solution  of  social  ills. 
Moreover,  non-Christian  countries  should  be 
saved  from  the  social  evils  peculiar  to  the 
West.  The  industrial  revolution  is  already 
spreading  to  the  Orient,  and  is  destined  to  in- 
crease in  volume  and  momentum.  How  im- 
portant it  is  that  soon  there  be  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  these  peoples  the  Christian  rem- 
edy— the  only  sufficient  relief  for  evils  which 
are  sure  to  follow.  Why  should  the  lands  of 
Asia  and  Africa  reproduce  the  tenement 
house  congestion  with  which  we  are  so 
sadly  familiar  in  Europe  and  America? 
Why  should  child  labor  be  introduced  in 
countries  like  Japan?  When  people  selfishly 
or  thoughtlessly  take  the  position  that  the 
social  problems  at  home  are  so  great  and  so 
acute  as  to  demand  undivided  attention,  it 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  69 

should  be  pointed  out  that  for  every  social 
service  expert  or  leader  in  fields  like  China, 
India  and  Turkey,  there  are  a  hundred  or 
more  in  North  America,  Great  Britain  and 
certain  Continental  countries. 

In  some  respects  the  most  serious,  as  well 
as  the  most  distinctive,  problem  of  our 
generation  is  the  racial  problem.  Increasing 
racial  misunderstandings,  prejudices,  fric- 
tion and  hatred  greatly  hinder  the  spread  of 
Christianity.  For  example,  the  gulf  which 
separates  the  white  and  the  black  in  South 
Africa  threatens  to  be  the  grave  of  Christian 
ideals  in  that  part  of  the  world.  This  problem 
in  its  different  aspects  calls  for  the  highest 
and  most  disinterested  statesmanship. 

One  of  the  most  inspiring  fields  of  Chris- 
tian statesmanship  is  that  of  facilitating  and 
guiding  the  movement  in  the  direction  of 
closer  co-ordination,  co-operation  and  unifica- 
tion of  the  Christian  forces.  In  many  fields 
this  movement  is  advancing  at  a  remarkable 
rate.  It  must  have  wise  guidance  in  order 
that  its  attendant  dangers  may  be  averted  or 
overcome.      Notwithstanding    the    splendid 


70      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

progress  already  being  made,  there  is  urgent 
demand  for  better  co-ordination  and  much 
closer  co-operation  between  the  various  Mis- 
sions and  Churches.  There  should  be  a 
better  correlation  of  the  work  of  the  sexes 
and  of  different  departments  of  mission 
work,  as  well  as  of  different  Societies  and 
nationalities  participating  in  the  enterprise. 
Too  often  varied  and  extensive  missionary 
forces  have  been  poured  into  a  mission  field 
from  many  sources  and  without  reference; 
to  each  other.  With  our  many  Societies, ' 
large  and  small,  there  is  serious  danger  of  scat- 
tering energies  instead  of  grappling  in  serried 
strength  with  the  mighty  task.  The  time 
has  come  to  put  an  end  to  the  wastefulness 
and  comparatively  meager  results  caused  by 
lack  of  concerted  plan  and  effort.  The  state- 
ment made  at  the  Edinburgh  Conference 
that  a  practical  plan  of  co-operation,  entered 
into  Intelligently  and  adhered  to  loyally  on 
the  part  of  the  missionary  forces,  would  be 
more  than  the  equivalent  of  doubling  the 
number  of  foreign  missionaries  has  never 
been  controverted.    As  there  are  not  less 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  71 

than  twenty-one  thousand  Protestant  mis- 
sionaries, it  is  evident  that  we  are  deaHng 
with  a  question  of  large  dimensions,  and  none 
but  leaders  of  large  mold  are  capable  of 
dealing  with  it  adequately. 

To  ensure  better  training  of  missionaries 
who  are  to  lead  this  greatest  enterprise  known 
among  men,  there  must  be  more  thorough 
and  courageous  thinking  and  action.  Not 
one  Christian  college  or  theological  seminary 
in  ten  has  a  curriculum  and  other  facilities 
for  equipping  men  to  meet  the  responsibilities 
of  the  modern  missionary  career.  Relatively 
speaking,  no  other  learned  profession  has 
such  poor  provision  for  its  proper  training. 
Intending  missionaries  are  getting  ready  to 
enter  upon  the  most  difficult  and  exacting 
work  on  earth.  It  is  a  task  involving  nothing 
less  than  the  reconstruction  of  the  non- 
Christian  world.  Moreover,  the  missionary 
movement  has  just  entered  upon  a  new  stage. 
The  World  Missionary  Conference  in  Edin- 
burgh in  1910  ushered  in  a  better  day,  for  the 
missionary  problem  must  henceforth  be 
treated  more  largely  than  heretofore  as  a 

6 


72      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

problem  in  applied  science.  The  missionary 
enterprise  has  taken  its  place  among  those 
great  works  which  require  the  ablest  general- 
ship. 

To  work  out  enlarged  plans  which  will  re- 
sult in  an  effective  occupation  of  the  unoccu- 
pied fields  is  a  task  that  calls  loudly  for  great 
leaders.  The  fact  that  there  are  still  so  many 
fields  which  can  be  characterized  as  unoccu- 
pied is  traceable  primarily  to  the  want  of 
Christian  statesmanship.  Nothing  but  the 
lack  of  such  world-wide  vision  and  planning 
would  have  delayed  by  so  many  centuries 
the  accomplishment  of  this  God-given  task. 
Who  can  question  that  if  such  talents  had 
been  more  fully  exercised  many  of  the  totally 
unoccupied  fields,  and  many  of  those  which 
are  partially  occupied,  would  long  since  have 
been  entered  in  force.  The  fact  that  entrance 
into  certain  fields  is  attended  with  such 
very  great  difficulties  suggests  that  men  of 
unusual  power  are  demanded  to  meet  and 
overcome  them.  What  Hudson  Taylor  ac- 
complished at  a  time  of  greater  difficulty 
than  the  present,  and  in  a  field  more  vast  than 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  73 

any  which  now  remains  unoccupied,  should 
strengthen  our  faith  to  beheve  that  the  em- 
ployment of  like  powers  would  lead  to  a 
masterly  occupation  of  the  great  unoccupied 
spaces  of  Africa  and  of  many  parts  of  the 
Mohammedan  world. 

First-rate  statesmen  are  needed  to  bring 
about  a  more  mutually  helpful  relation  be- 
tween the  Mission  Boards  at  home  and  the 
administrative  leaders  of  the  Missions  and 
Churches  on  the  field.  The  great  problem 
of  the  administration  of  missions  is  to  com- 
bine in  due  proportions  centralization  in  the 
settlement  of  principles  and  in  the  determin- 
ation of  general  policies  on  the  one  hand,  and 
on  the  other  hand  the  application  of  principles 
and  the  adaptation  and  working  out  of  poli- 
cies. The  growing  independence  and  lead- 
ership of  native  Churches,  as  well  as  the  de- 
velopment of  co-operation  between  Churches 
and  between  different  Missions,  are  introdu- 
cing new  difficulties,  thus  calHng  for  new 
definitions  of  relationships. 

The  service  of  the  Mission  Boards  opens 
up  a  career  of  large  scope.     At  a  time  like 


74      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

this  there  is  imperative  need  of  having  re- 
lated to  the  missionary  councils  more  men 
such  as  Rufus  Anderson,  one  of  the  early 
secretaries  of  the  American  Board,  and 
Henry  Venn,  a  man  who  for  over  thirty  years 
as  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society,  exhibited  to  a  rare  degree 
the  qualities  of  a  great  minister  of  state. 

On  every  home  field,  quite  as  much  as  on 
the  mission  field,  there  is  need  of  more  men 
of  outstanding  ability  and  leadership  to  re- 
lease the  latent  energies  of  the  home  Church 
and  to  relate  these  to  the  plans  of  the  expand- 
ing Kingdom.  Here  lies  one  of  the  largest 
tasks  of  constructive  statesmanship.  On  its 
accomplishment  depends  the  full  realization 
of  nearly  every  one  of  the  other  great  under- 
takings to  which  attention  has  been  called. 
We  need  only  think  of  the  boundless  capaci- 
ties of  North  American  and  European  Chris- 
tians for  faith,  for  heroic  achievement,  for 
vicariousness,  and  for  intercession,  to  realize 
the  great  scope  there  is  for  a  most  profitable 
exercise  of  the  gifts  of  finest  leadership.  How 
true  it  is  that  the  Churches  everywhere  are 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  75 

ready  to  follow  the  guidance  of  those  who 
show  themselves  worthy  of  trust! 

What  should  characterize  the  missionary 
statesman  so  much  needed  to  meet  the  pres- 
ent world  situation  confronting  the  Christian 
Church?  A  missionary  statesman  is  one  who 
exhibits  conspicuous  wisdom  and  ability  in 
the  direction  or  management  of  missionary 
affairs.  It  will  be  well  to  examine  the  differ- 
ent traits  that  such  a  man  should  possess. 
Possibly  no  one  man  combines  in  himself  all  of 
these  qualifications,  but  taken  together  they 
constitute  an  ideal  which  should  be  kept  in 
mind. 

The  true  missionary  statesman  is  a  man 
of  vision,  in  the  sense  of  seeing  things  in  the 
large.  He  ever  takes  the  larger  and  broader 
view  rather  than  the  fractional,  the  parochial 
or  the  provincial.  It  was  said  of  Lord  Cur- 
zon  that  he  had  acquired  for  himself  the 
power  of  looking  at  Asia  as  a  whole.  This 
ability  made  him  as  Viceroy  one  of  the  great- 
est foreign  ministers  India  ever  had.  The 
Vatican  is  one  of  the  few  places  where  they 
think  of  the  world  as  a  whole.    St.  Paul  was  a 


76     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

staresman  in  the  sense  here  emphasized,  for 
as  Sir  William  Ramsay,  in  his  ''Pauline  and 
Other  Studies,"  has  pointed  out,  he  thought 
in  terms  of  provinces,  and  his  aim  embraced 
the  conquering  of  the  Roman  world,  which 
would  ultimately  mean  the  whole  world. 

The  missionary  statesman  has  vision  also, 
in  the  sense  of  looking  far  into  the  future. 
He  is  concerned  not  merely  with  the  passing 
requirements  of  the  hour,  but  with  the  abid- 
ing needs  of  the  people  and  of  the  country. 
He  builds  not  for  to-day  and  not  merely  for 
to-morrow,  but  for  all  time.  Bacon  uses  the 
word  ''longanimity"  to  characterize  the 
quality  of  mind  required  in  those  who  look 
ahead  to  the  far-reaching  consequences  of 
present  plans.  There  is  needed  on  every  mis- 
sion field  among  the  leaders  this  power  to 
anticipate,  to  foresee  the  developments  of 
present  tendencies  and  the  outcome  of  forces 
silently  at  work.  It  was  said  of  Washington 
that  "he  was  accustomed  to  contemplate  at 
a  distance  those  critical  situations  in  which 
the  United  States  might  probably  be  placed; 
and  to  digest,  before  the  occasion  required 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  77 

action,  the  line  of  conduct  which  it  would  be 
proper  to  observe."  It  reminds  one  of  that 
great  Scottish  missionary  statesman,  Alex- 
ander Duff  of  India.  In  speaking  of  his  mis- 
sionary policy,  which  involved  long  prepara- 
tory processes,  he  said:  "Spurning  the  notion 
of  a  present  day's  success,  and  a  present  year's 
wonder,  we  directed  our  views  not  merely  to 
the  present  but  to  future  generations."  His 
policy  was  to  deal  not  only  with  separating 
atoms  but  with  laying  a  mine  which  would 
one  day  explode  and  tear  up  the  whole  struc- 
ture from  its  lowest  depths. 

The  missionary  statesman  must  evince 
ability  to  grasp,  define  and  apply  correct 
governing  principles.  It  is  not  easy  to  dis- 
cover and  utilize  guiding  principles,  especially 
in  untried  fields  and  in  dealing  with  unsolved 
problems.  Dr.  Nevius  of  Shantung  Province, 
China,  through  a  long  and  fruitful  career, 
demonstrated  capacity  to  seize  upon  and 
utilize  great  principles.  Mackay  of  Uganda 
in  applying  the  principle  of  the  cantilever 
bridge  in  missions  (that  is,  the  extent  to 
which  the  missionary  enterprise  is  expanded 


78      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

on  the  mission  field  is  determined  by  the 
degree  to  which  missionary  interest  and  con- 
secration are  developed  among  Christians  at 
the  home  base)  illustrates  the  point  in  ques- 
tion. Christian  leaders  to-day  may  wisely 
test  their  plans  and  actions  by  the  principles 
enunciated  by  Jesus  Christ. 

The  statesman  in  every  sphere  is  one  also 
who  recognizes  and  observes  relationships. 
He  sees  that  each  part  of  the  plan  is  related 
to  the  other  parts  and  must  be  made  sub- 
servient to  the  chief  object  he  has  in  view. 
Moreover,  he  evolves  the  particular  plan  in 
question  in  relation  to  other  important  plans 
and  interests.  The  statesman  utilizes  all  that 
will  help  to  advance  his  poHcies.  He  makes 
the  most  of  political,  social  and  religious 
trends,  movements  and  institutions.  He 
always  takes  advantage  of  a  rising  tide.  Dr. 
Verbeck  accomplished  a  far  larger  and  more 
enduring  work  for  Christ  in  Japan  by  identi- 
fying himself  sympathetically  with  the  grow- 
ing national  aspirations  of  the  people  than 
he  would  have  accomplished  had  he  been  in- 
different to  them.    President  Harada  of  the 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  79 

Doshisha,  and  Mr.  J.  N.  Farquhar,  a  leader 
of  the  Christian  Student  Movement  in  In- 
dia, have  exhibited  this  statesmanhke  trait 
of  seeking  to  build  on  whatever  is  good  and 
true  in  the  ancient  religions  and  ethics  of  the 
people.  Mr.  K.  T.  Paul,  as  General  Secretary 
of  the  National  Missionary  Society  of  India, 
showed  great  wisdom  in  pointing  out  the  ad- 
vantages for  the  spread  of  Christianity  which 
would  result  from  utilizing  the  membership 
of  the  panchayats,  that  is,  the  small  councils 
or  administrative  groups  of  Indian  villages. 
The  more  thoroughly  the  missionary  catches 
the  point  of  view  and  sympathizes  with  the 
feeling  of  those  among  whom  he  labors,  the 
more  extensive  and  profound  will  be  his  in- 
fluence upon  them.  The  Christian  states- 
man shows  ability  to  co-ordinate  and  unite 
elements  or  forces  in  order  to  produce  the 
largest  results.  What  splendid  illustrations 
are  being  afforded  to-day  on  nearly  every 
mission  field  in  connection  with  the  promising 
union  movements  and  enterprises.  The  wide 
and  insistent  demand  for  a  larger  exercise 
of  this  gift  is  set  forth  in  a  later  chapter. 


80      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

The  capacity  to  select  and  guide  men,  es- 
pecially strong  men,  has  ever  been  one  of  the 
marks  of  great  statesmen.  This  is  set  forth 
admirably  in  Rothschild's  ''Lincoln,  Master 
of  Men,"  a  book  which  should  be  read  and 
studied  by  all  who  desire  to  render  larger 
service  to  their  generation.  Most  foreign 
missionaries  have  unlimited  scope  for  the 
exercise  of  this  talent.  From  the  nature  of 
the  case  the  foreign  missionary,  unlike  most 
home  missionaries,  must  be  a  trainer  and 
leader  of  men.  He  must  acquire  the  abihty 
to  estimate  wisely  varied  capacities  and 
adaptabilities  for  the  tasks  to  be  accom- 
plished. In  some  respects  the  most  distinct- 
ive function  of  missionary  life  is  this  which 
might  be  called  the  supervisory  or  episcopal 
function. 

The  statesmen,  both  in  the  Church  and  out- 
side the  Church,  who  have  left  the  deepest 
mark  on  their  generation  have  been  men  of 
large  power  of  sympathy  and  of  imagination. 
These  terms  are  used  almost  synonymously, 
and  imply  the  capacity  to  put  oneself  at 
the  point  of  view  of  those  whom  one  would 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  81 

help  or  serve.  All  peoples,  races  and  classes 
are  responsive  to  intelligent  sympathy.  A 
few  years  ago  Lord  Morley  made  a  most  dis- 
criminating remark  in  complaining  that  the 
English  ''are  making  administration  less  per- 
sonal, though  evidence  also  tends  to  show 
that  the  Indian  people  are  peculiarly  respon- 
sive to  sympathy  and  personal  influence." 
The  thought  involved  in  this  criticism  should 
ever  be  borne  in  mind  by  the  missionary  ad- 
ministrator, for  it  is  indeed  true  that  no  states- 
man can  be  truly  great  without  this  gift  of 
imagination.  A  successful  Viceroy  of  India 
recently  voiced  a  great  truth  for  all  states- 
men, missionary  or  political,  to  heed:  ''De- 
pend upon  it,  you  will  never  rule  the  East 
except  through  the  heart,  and  the  moment 
imagination  has  gone  out  of  your  Asiatic 
policy  your  Empire  will  dwindle  and  decay." 
Wherever  one  travels  over  the  non-Christian 
world  he  is  impressed  by  the  fact  that  those 
missionaries  who  have  shown  deepest  sym- 
pathy with  the  people  are  exerting  the  most 
far-reaching  influence. 

The  missionary  statesman  has  an  under- 


82     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

standing  of  the  times  and  situations  in  which 
he  finds  himself  and  of  the  inherent  require- 
ments involved.  This  knowledge  of  what  is 
needed,  this  ability  to  judge  of  the  time  of 
ripeness  for  action,  this  skill  in  the  ''under- 
standing of  the  times,"  is  an  indispensable 
trait  for  the  Christian  leader.  The  elder  Pitt 
saw  in  North  America  a  chance  to  wrest  a 
continent  from  a  powerful  enemy,  and  ably 
directed  his  poHcy  to  this  end.  We  need 
William  Pitts  to-day  in  Europe  and  America 
to  rouse  the  entire  Church  to  see  our  world 
opportunity.  The  late  Professor  Gustav 
Warneck  of  Germany  showed  this  character- 
istic in  anticipating  not  long  before  his  death 
what  many  now  see  regarding  the  critical  op- 
portunity then  presented  in  Japan;  that  is, 
he  discerned  before  it  came  the  new  day  of 
God's  visitation.  The  Bishop  of  Madras,  in 
his  constant  insistence  on  the  urgency  of 
reaching  the  "untouchables"  of  India,  illus- 
trates the  same  trait. 

The  missionary  statesman  shows  great  wis- 
dom in  planning.  This  is  revealed  in  his 
choice  of  places  of  contact,  in  his  modes  or 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  83 

measures  of  approach,  in  the  means  employed 
to  achieve  the  victory  and  in  the  time  he 
chooses  for  the  essential  struggle.  There  is 
need  in  every  country  of  men  who  will  evolve 
a  definite,  comprehensive  and  progressive 
policy  for  taking  the  land  for  Christ.  The 
leaders  needed  are  men  who  are  able  to  real- 
ize their  visions.  The  great  statesman  is  a 
master  builder.  He  is  a  man  of  courage,  of 
faith,  and  of  resolution  in  action.  Of  what 
value  would  Hudson  Taylor's  vision  of  in- 
land China  have  been  had  he  not  devoted 
himself  from  the  time  he  received  it  until  his 
death  to  doing  all  in  his  power  to  realize  his 
vision?  As  a  result  his  Mission  is  now  repre- 
sented by  a  thousand  missionaries  in  the  more 
neglected  parts  of  China. 

The  statesman  counsels  with  others  and 
seeks  to  profit  from  their  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience. In  a  sense  he  himself  is  an  expert 
in  the  work  of  securing,  testing  and  using  the 
information  provided  by  others.  It  is  his 
business  to  use  the  specialist  knowledge  of 
others  rather  than  to  furnish  it  himseK. 
Marshall  said  of  Washington,  ''Taught  to 


84     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

distrust  first  impressions,  he  sought  to  ac- 
quire all  the  information  which  was  attain- 
able, and  to  hear,  without  prejudice,  all  the 
reasons  which  could  be  urged  for  or  against  a 
particular  measure.  His  own  judgment  was 
suspended  until  it  became  necessary  to  de- 
termine, and  his  decisions,  thus  maturely 
made,  were  seldom  if  ever  to  be  shaken."  The 
missionary  statesman  must  be  a  man  of  judg- 
ment. Balance  or  poise  of  mind — sound 
common  sense — constitutes  after  all  possibly 
the  chief  ingredient  of  statesmanship.  This 
practical  good  sense,  while  in  some  respects 
the  most  rare,  is  certainly  one  of  the  most 
valuable  qualities  of  the  mind.  Above  all, 
the  missionary  statesman  forgets  himself. 
He  ever  seeks  large  and  beneficent  results 
for  others  and  not  personal  prominence  and 
recognition.  On  the  mission  field  this  is  evi- 
dent in  his  attitude  toward  the  native  Church 
and  native  leaders. 

How  may  the  number  of  missionary  states- 
men be  multiplied?  How  may  missionary 
statesmanship  be  developed?  One  secret 
lies   in   missionaries   and   administrators  of 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  85 

Missionary  Societies  devoting  themselves  to 
vast  and  overwhelmingly  difficult  under- 
takings. No  man  can  take  in  God's  great 
design  for  the  human  race  and  not  be 
enlarged  by  the  contemplation  of  such  a 
purpose.  Time  after  time  one  has  observed 
men  who,  when  they  first  went  out  to  the 
mission  field  or  entered  upon  the  service  of 
some  Mission  Board  at  home,  were  compara- 
tively small  men,  but  who,  as  a  result  of  be- 
coming absorbed  with  large  plans,  have  been 
developed  into  men  of  wide  vision  and  strong 
grasp.  This  probably  explains  the  fact  that 
a  larger  proportion  of  mediocre  men  on  the 
mission  field  develop  into  greatness  than  on 
the  home  field. 

Large  responsibilities,  great  issues  and 
great  situations  call  out  the  latent  powers  in 
men  and  make  possible  the  development  of 
any  gift  of  statesmanship  within  them.  We 
often  hear  complaints  of  the  lack  of  leader- 
ship manifested  among  native  Christian 
workers.  Possibly  one  reason  is  that  the 
missionaries  do  not  place  full  and  sufficiently 
heavy  responsibility  upon  them.     There  is 


86      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

danger,  moreover,  that  the  policy  of  some 
Mission  Boards  is  such  as  to  discourage  the 
development  among  their  own  missionaries 
of  the  largest  power  of  initiative  and  leader- 
ship. Let  men  become  lost  in  the  great  cause 
of  making  Christ's  reign  co-extensive  with 
the  inhabited  earth.  An  atmosphere  of  un- 
selfishness is  essential  for  the  development  of 
the  prophetic  spirit  which  must  characterize 
the  true  Christian  statesman.  The  only  way 
a  man  can  successfully  forget  himself  is  by 
becoming  so  occupied  with  thoughts  and 
plans  for  the  betterment  of  others  that  he 
literally  loses  himself. 

Intimate  association  of  leading  minds 
stimulates  the  development  of  statesmanlike 
views  and  action.  Conferences  of  missionary 
administrators,  and  of  missionaries  or  leaders 
of  the  Church,  for  the  thorough  consideration 
of  problems  and  plans  are  to  be  welcomed. 
The  influence  in  this  direction  of  the  Annual 
Conferences  of  representatives  of  Mission 
Boards  held  in  North  America,  in  the  British 
Isles  and  in  Germany,  is  increasingly  observ- 
able.    The  work  of  the  eight  Commissions 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  87 

during  the  years  preceding  the  Edinburgh 
Conference,  and  Hkewise  the  varied  activi- 
ties of  the  Special  Committees  of  the  Con- 
tinuation Committee,  are  all  tending  to  de- 
velop a  larger  and  truer  statesmanship  among 
the  leaders  of  the  Christian  forces.  Visits  by 
those  who  are  recognized  Christian  states- 
men have  a  contagious  influence.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  overstate  the  good  accom- 
plished in  this  way  by  the  visits  of  Alexander 
Duff  to  Scotland  and  to  America  during  his 
furloughs. 

The  thorough  study  of  the  constructive 
achievements  of  the  leaders  of  Christianity 
in  other  fields  and  in  other  centuries  will  help 
to  develop  statesmanlike  traits.  Wise  travel 
in  foreign  lands  is  invaluable  in  developing 
the  habit  of  trained  observation  and  in  help- 
ing to  acquire  the  keenness  of  outlook  and 
balance  of  mind  which  are  such  important 
elements  in  statesmanship.  Reference  has 
been  made  to  the  large  understanding  of  East- 
ern affairs  possessed  by  Lord  Curzon.  Early 
in  life  he  set  himself  the  task  of  visiting  and 
studying  every  important  Asiatic  country. 


88      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

''  The  East  is  a  university/'  he  said,  "  in  which 
the  scholar  never  takes  a  degree."  Some  of 
the  most  suggestive  and  helpful  discussions  of 
missionary  problems,  such,  for  example,  as 
the  book  by  Dr.  Edward  A.  Lawrence, 
'' Modern  Missions  in  the  East,"  were  the 
result  of  comparative  and  comprehensive 
study  made  possible  by  wide  travel.  The 
close  study  of  church  history  is  indispensable 
to  the  understanding  and  solution  of  some  of 
the  most  pressing  problems  of  Christian  mis- 
sions. Possibly  no  subject  should  be  more 
studied  just  now  by  missionaries  and  admin- 
istrators, because,  as  Dr.  J.  C.  Gibson 
pointed  out  in  a  recent  conference,  the 
Church  has  been  through  it  all  before.  The 
value  of  the  International  Review  of  Missions 
and  of  the  corresponding  quarterly  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  pubHshed  in  the 
German  language,  in  promoting  thorough 
consideration  of  missionary  questions  is  most 
evident.  India,  China  and  Japan  should 
have  high  grade,  scientific,  missionary  period- 
icals edited  by  men  who  themselves  are  Chris- 
tian statesmen. 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  89 

In  every  great  mission  field  some  men 
should  be  put  in  a  position  to  study  the  needs 
and  the  problems  of  the  country  as  a  whole. 
Moreover,  there  should  be  at  least  a  few  men 
in  Christendom  who  are  set  apart  to  study 
and  plan  in  the  interest  of  the  program  of 
Christianity  for  the  entire  world.  In  every 
field  among  Christian  workers  may  be 
found  devotion,  zeal,  self-sacrifice  and  great 
activity,  but  there  is  dire  need  of  men  who 
have  the  power  to  see  the  situation  as  a  whole, 
and  who  are  responsible  for  dealing  with  it 
as  a  whole.  Each  missionary  and  each  mis- 
sionary administrator  is  necessarily  so  full 
of  his  own  plans  and  work  that  very  few  of 
them  take  the  wider  view.  The  large 
majority  of  workers  are  comparatively  igno- 
rant of  what  is  going  on  outside  their  own  / 
particular  communion  or  field.  Generally 
speaking,  therefore,  there  cannot  be  expected 
from  them  the  comprehensive  outlook  which 
is  so  much  needed,  although  it  should  be  re- 
iterated that  within  the  sphere  of  the  work 
or  field  for  which  they  are  primarily  respon- 
sible there  is  large  outlet  for  statesmanlike 


90     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

gifts.  To  understand  and  to  appreciate  fully 
the  great  world  movements  and  tendencies 
now  at  work  requires  knowledge  of  more  than 
one  Christian  communion,  nation,  or  race. 
Better  use  should  be  made  of  the  furloughs 
and  of  the  foreign  journeys  of  missionaries 
and  native  leaders.  Dr.  Gibson  of  China 
wisely  calls  attention  to  the  advantages  of  a 
worker  stepping  outside  his  own  work  to 
look  at  it  from  the  outside,  and  to  study  it  in 
its  larger  relations. 

One  of  the  most  important  ways  of  develop- 
ing statesmanship  in  Christian  missions  is 
that  of  affording  missionary  workers  ample 
time  and  other  conditions  favorable  for  think- 
ing upon  their  work  and  problems.  Emerson 
calls  a  statesman  "a  scholar  thinking."  It 
takes  time  for  prolonged  reflection  to  develop  > 
statesmanlike  vision  and  plan.  In  every  land 
and  in  every  Church  there  are  men  competent, 
to  do  this — men  with  the  capacity,  and  in  a 
measure  with  the  training,  for  true  statesman- 
ship. Moreover,  Christian  missions  abound 
with  problems  and  situations  calling  for  its 
exercise.    The  trouble  is  that  many  of  the 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  91 

men  possessing  the  ability  or  latent  capacity 
to  become  statesmen  are  so  absorbed  with 
executive  work,  and  have  their  time  so 
frittered  away  by  countless  details,  minor  en- 
gagements and  interruptions  that  they  are 
unable  to  secure  the  prolonged  periods  of 
time  and  the  conditions  favorable  for  quiet 
reflection  and  constructive  thinking.  From 
the  nature  of  the  case  the  reason  why  so  many 
problems  are  still  unsolved,  and  why  so 
many  situations  are  still  unmastered  is  be- 
cause men  are  not  thinking  long  enough  and 
deeply  enough. 

Unceasing  toil  is  one  of  the  processes  re- 
quired for  the  development  of  statesmanship. 
This  is  as  true  in  the  work  of  the  Church  as  in 
the  affairs  of  State.  Morley  speaks  of  the 
"infinite  labor"  of  Gladstone  as  one  of  the 
causes  of  his  unique  leadership.  Gladstone 
himself  claimed  that  one  thing  which  char- 
acterized his  whole  career  was  ''the  desire  to 
learn."  The  more  closely  we  study  the  habits 
of  the  leading  minds  in  missionary  affairs, 
the  more  we  are  impressed  by  the  fact  that 
their  leadership,  their  larger  understanding 


92     THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

and  their  most  distinguished  services  have 
been  made  possible  in  no  small  part  by  their 
prodigious  toil. 

A  deepening  acquaintance  and  fellowship 
with  God  and  a  habit  of  pondering  His  de- 
signs, His  ways,  His  wishes  and  His  resources 
are  essential  and  absolutely  central.  The 
Psalmist  has  said  that  God  ^'made  known  His 
ways  to  Moses,  His  doings  unto  the  children 
of  Israel."  To-day  among  the  thousands  of 
missionary  workers  and  leaders  there  are 
many  who  apparently  have  recognized  the 
wonderful  acts  of  Almighty  God,  but  how 
few  give  one  the  impression  that  they  have 
entered  into  intimate  acquaintance  with  His 
ways.  The  statesmanship  of  the  apostolic 
age  had  its  springs  in  a  life  of  communion  with 
the  living  God.  The  founders  of  Christianity 
did  not  sit  at  the  feet  of  men  of  great  gifts 
and  experience,  yet  they  saw  further  and 
built  more  largely  and  securely  than  the  out- 
standing political  or  religious  leaders  of  sub- 
sequent centuries.  Whence  did  they  acquire 
their  statecraft?  They  developed  the  deeper 
penetration,   the  larger  understanding,   the 


NEED  FOR  STATESMANSHIP  93 

true    self-detachment,   as   the   Master   did, 
through  communion  with  God  Himself.    To 
a  degree  of  which  we  have  not  dreamed  the 
statesmanship  of  the  Kingdom  so  imperative- 
ly demanded  in  these  days  depends  upon  fre- 
quent and  patient  waiting  upon  God  and 
upon  the  discerning  and  following  of  His 
providential  leadings.     If  there  be  compara- 
tively little  in  missionary  planning  and  policy 
which  reminds   us  of   superhuman  wisdom 
and  power,  may  not  the  reason  lie  right  here? 
In  a  true  sense  the  power  of  Christian  states- 
manship is  God-given.     Is  not  the  missionary 
statesman  a  prophet  whom  God  has  called, 
and  to  whom  He  has  given  a  vision  and  the 
power  to  persuade  men  to  follow  it?     The 
one  adequate  missionary  mind  is  the  Spirit ,  i 
of  God.     Except  as  He  guides,  inspires  and 
emboldens    workers    and    movements,    how 
futile  is  all  our  devising,  but  when  He  mani- 
fests His  presence,  wisdom  and  power,  how  . 
the  results  transcend  all  human  experiences,/' 
calculations  and  expectations! 


THE  UNCHRISTIAN  ASPECTS  OF  THE 

IMPACT  OF  OUR  WESTERN 

CIVILIZATION 


IV 

THE  UNCHRISTIAN  ASPECTS  OF  THE 

IMPACT  OF  OUR  WESTERN 

CIVILIZATION 

During  the  recent  years  there  has  been  a 
vast  multiplication  of  contacts  of  so-called 
Christian  nations  with  non-Christian  peoples. 
The  marked  improvement  and  the  wide 
extension  of  all  means  of  communication  ; 
have  had  most  to  do  with  making  this  ^ 
possible.  It  has  been  said  that  steam  has  an- 
nihilated nine-tenths  of  the  space  of  the  world 
and  that  electricity  has  cancelled  the  re- 
mainder. There  has  been  an  enormous 
growth  of  trade  and  commerce.  This  is  im- 
pressively shown  by  a  map  prepared  by  the 
editor  of  the  periodical  Cotton  and  Finance 
showing  the  regions  which  have  been  made 
commercially  accessible  since  1890  through 
exploration,  through  treaties  and  through 
railroad  and  telegraph  extension.  An  ag- 
gressive policy  of  political  expansion  on  the 

97 


98      THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

part  of  European  nations  has  served  to 
multiply  greatly  the  points  of  contact. 
Over  three-fourths  of  the  area  of  the  habitable 
globe  is  under  the  control  of  civiHzed  powers, 
and  though  vast  multitudes  remain  non- 
Christian,  there  is  scarcely  a  spot  in  which 
the  influence  of  the  Western  nations  is  not 
felt,  and  in  which  the  backward  and  uncivil- 
ized races  are  not  being  influenced  by  the 
ideas  and  practices  of  the  more  advanced 
nations. 

The  streams  of  emigration  of  laboring 
classes  from  the  Orient  and  from  the  Near 
East  by  their  direct  and  refluent  action  tend 
to  bring  the  more  and  the  less  advanced 
civilizations  into  closer  touch  with  one  an- 
other. The  growing  migrations  of  students 
from  land  to  land  are  of  large  significance 
owing  to  the  fact  that  they  represent  the 
future  leaders  of  the  nations  concerned.  The 
prodigious  activities  of  the  secular  press  in 
all  parts  of  the  world  have  accomplished  won- 
ders in  bringing  before  readers  in  any  one 
nation  what  is  going  on  in  other  nations. 
The  development  of  international  law  and 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION    99 

the  varied  offices  of  diplomacy  are  further 
serving  to  destroy  the  isolation  of  nations. 
The  multiplication  of  international  societies 
affords  a  striking  illustration  of  the  contrac- 
tion and  unification  of  the  world  and  also 
reveals  one  of  the  principal  causes  facilitat- 
ing this  process.  There  has  been  held  within 
two  years  in  Brussels  a  gathering  of  repre- 
sentatives of  international  societies.  It  per- 
fected an  organization  called  ''The  Union 
of  International  Associations."  This  society 
pubUshes  a  monthly  entitled  La  Vie  Inter- 
nationale. The  annual  report  of  this  society. 
gives  a  list  of  over  four  hundred  existing  in- 
ternational organizations,  commercial,  indus-' 
trial,  scientific,  political,  educational  and 
social. 

The  countless  ships  of  commerce,  the  rail- 
way trains  moving  in  every  direction,  and 
these  many  other  agencies  and  influences,  are 
serving  as  great  shuttles  which  are  weaving 
the  nations  together  into  one  complex  web. 
Every  day  civilization  is  becoming  more  and 
more  international.  National  thought,  na- 
tional custom  and  national  action  are  giving 


100    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

way  in  every  sphere  to  internationalism. 
Races  which  have  had  nothing  in  common 
are  discovering  increasingly  their  interde- 
pendence, and  are  seeking  earnestly  to  under- 
stand each  other  and  to  find  ground  for 
co-operation.  For  thousands  of  years  the 
East  and  West  have  lived  apart;  but  it  be- 
comes more  and  more  evident  that  their 
destinies  are  blending  and  that  for  all  the 
future  they  must  live  together.  Not  except- 
ing the  mingling  of  the  peoples  in  the  days  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  or  at  the  time  of  the 
invasion  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  the  north- 
ern nations,  or  at  the  coming  together  of  the 
different  civilizations  in  the  Crusades,  has 
there  ever  been  a  movement  comparable  in 
extent  and  significance  with  this  modern 
spread  of  the  civilization  of  the  West,  and 
the  present-day  intermingling  of  the  races 
of  mankind. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  Christian  mis- 
sions this  marked  contraction  of  the  world 
and  the  great  multiplication  of  points  of  con- 
tact between  Western  civilization  and  the 
non-Christian  nations  is  of  the  largest  sig- 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   101 

nificance.  It  not  only  has  immeasurably 
widened  the  opportunity  of  Christian  mis- 
sions and  afforded  faciUties  which  make  pos- 
sible more  prompt  and  efficient  conduct  of 
missionary  operations,  but  has  also  enor- 
mously increased  and  intensified  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  task.  In  every  part  of  the 
non-Christian  world  men  of  bad  character 
and  influence  have  gone  to  blast  and  destroy 
where  missionaries  have  gone  to  save  and 
upbuild.  While  on  the  one  hand  trade  and 
colonial  politics  are  opening  the  world's  doors, 
they  are,  on  the  other  hand,  closing  the  peo- 
ple's hearts  to  the  teachings  of  Christianity. 
The  improved  means  of  communication 
which  facilitate  the  sending  of  missionaries 
to  take  to  non-Christians  the  best  that  we 
have,  also  make  it  easier  for  the  people  of 
non-Christian  lands  to  come  among  us  and 
thus  see  much  that  belies  and  counteracts  the 
message  of  the  missionary.  Thousands  of 
Mohammedan  traders  are  using  the  white 
man's  roads  as  their  trade  routes,  and  every 
^loslem  trader  is  a  Mohammedan  mission- 
ary.   While  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway,  the 


102    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Cape  to  Cairo  Railway,  the  various  lines 
reaching  from  the  east,  west  and  north  coasts 
toward  the  heart  of  Africa,  the  German  rail- 
ways penetrating  the  Asiatic  Levant  and  the 
network  of  railways  spreading  over  China, 
Southern  Asia  and  Latin  America  have  made 
hundreds  of  millions  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Asia,  Africa  and  Latin  America  much  more 
accessible  to  the  Christian  propaganda,  they 
have  at  the  same  time  exposed  these  multi- 
tudes to  the  devastating  touch  of  that  which 
Is  evil  in  Western  civilization. 

What  are  the  unchristian  aspects  of  the 
present-day  impact  of  Western  civilization 
upon  the  non-Christian  world?  One,  cer- 
tainly, is  that  of  the  unchristian  attitude  and 
actions  of  Christian  powers  or  governments. 
In  some  cases  this  has  been  exhibited  in  the 
seizure  or  stealing  of  territory.  Thus  ninety- 
six  per  cent,  of  the  African  continent  has 
been  parceled  out  among  European  nations. 
Persia  has  virtually  been  divided  between 
two  Christian  powers.  Other  large  sections 
in  the  heart  of  Asia  have  been  claimed  as 
zones    of   influence    by   European    nations. 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   103 

Considerable  areas  of  China  have  been  taken 
from  her  by  so-called  civilized  powers.  The 
history  of  the  concessions  demanded  and 
wrung  from  China  in  her  sea  coast  and  river 
ports  is  one  of  which  the  West  may  well  be 
ashamed.  Through  such  seizure  of  great 
areas  and  ports  in  different  parts  of  the 
world  the  men  of  Western  lands  have  given 
notice  that  the  yellow  and  black  races  must 
be  obedient  to  their  will.  Such  aggressions 
build  up  a  high  wall  against  the  moral  and 
religious  teachings  emanating  from  represen- 
tatives of  these  aggressive  nations.  Is  it 
strange  that  many  of  the  better  informed  of 
the  peoples  of  these  weaker  countries  say, 
''Christianity  is  the  religion  of  the  lands 
which  have  thus  insulted,  injured  and  robbed 
us.    We  want  none  of  it." 

The  unchristian  attitude  of  some  Christian 
governments  is  seen  in  the  ignoring  of  treaties 
with  weaker  states.  Of  this  we  have  had 
illustration  in  the  African  and  Asiatic  Levant 
within  very  recent  years.  There  is  danger 
also  that  Japan  may  entertain  similar  feel- 
ings concerning  America.    One  of  her  leading 

8 


104    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

men  has  said  in  another  connection  that  the 
example  of  Western  Christian  powers  shows 
that  they  do  not  recognize  any  universal 
ethical  principles  in  their  dealings  with  other 
nations.  Who  can  measure  the  harm  done  to 
Christianity  and  to  the  name  of  Western 
civilization  by  the  self-seeking  and  dominat- 
ing political  intercourse  of  so-called  Christian 
powers  with  more  backward  nations!  At 
times  laws  are  passed  or  tolerated  which  must 
impress  the  non-Christian  peoples  as  unjust 
and  certainly  out  of  harmony  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Christian  rehgion  as  expounded 
by  the  missionaries.  It  was  recently  reported 
that  there  might  be  grave  danger  that  such 
an  impression  would  be  made  upon  millions 
of  the  blacks  of  South  Africa  should  certain 
proposed  laws  regarding  the  buying  or  selUng 
of  land  by  natives  be  carried  into  effect. 
The  sending  out  and  maintaining  as  officials 
those  whose  lives  are  a  reproach  and  a  con- 
tradiction to  the  Christian  name  does  much 
to  counteract  the  good  accomplished  by 
devoted  missionaries.  Notwithstanding  the 
marked   improvement   in   the   personnel   of 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   105 

consulates  and  embassies  of  certain  West- 
ern Christian  nations,  there  are  still  far 
too  many  debasing  examples  among  these 
men  who  represent  Europe  and  America 
in  Asia  and  Africa.  The  carrying  of  the 
policy  of  religious  neutrality  to  extremes 
among  peoples  ruled  by  Western  Christian 
nations  militates  strongly  at  times  against 
the  proper  understanding  and  rapid  spread 
of  Christianity.  Such  a  poHcy  in  fields  Hke 
India  and  in  the  Sudan  means  in  reality  the 
undue  favoring  of  Hinduism  and  Moham- 
medanism. Christianity  does  not  require 
nor  ask  for  preferential  treatment  but  simply 
for  equal  opportunity  and  equal  favor. 

Wrong  practices  in  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial relations  present  another  unchristian 
aspect  of  the  impact  of  the  civilization  of  the 
West.  Too  often  this  has  been  shown  by  a 
pohcy  of  cruel  exploitation.  The  Congo 
horrors  are  too  recent  to  call  for  restatement. 
When  one  remembers  the  promises  of  the 
Christian  powers  which,  when  that  state  was 
estabhshed,  solemnly  engaged  to  watch  over 
the  preservation  of  the  native  races  and  to  co- 


106    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

operate  in  the  suppression  of  slavery,  one 
realizes  what  an  obstacle  to  the  spread  of 
Christianity  has  been  the  long  record  of 
sinful  neglect.  While  the  situation  has  been 
changed  for  the  better  in  very  recent  years, 
it  is  still  essential  that  all  Christian  govern- 
ments preserve  an  attitude  of  earnest  vigil- 
ance to  see  that  the  policy  of  reform  is  faith- 
fully carried  out.  The  Putumayo  atrocities 
in  Peru  have  afforded  a  still  more  recent 
example  of  what  may  go  on  as  a  result  of 
the  cupidity  and  cruelty  of  exploiters  from 
Christian  lands. 

More  commonly  these  evil  practices  are 
exhibited  in  the  form  of  dishonest  and  un- 
scrupulous commercial  transactions.  While 
some  Western  firms  have  enviable  names  for 
fair  dealing  with  backward  peoples,  there  are 
other  companies  and  organizations,  including 
some  of  the  great  syndicates  of  the  world, 
which  have  a  most  unfavorable  reputation 
and  record  in  this  respect.  Far  too  often 
the  white  man  has  cajoled,  bullied,  threatened 
and  bribed  the  Asiatic  and  the  African,  has 
reaped  enormous  profits,  and  when  he  has 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   107 

fallen  into  entanglements  has  called  upon  his 
Government  to  help  him  out.  It  has  been 
indeed  a  disgraceful  record.  What  wonder 
that  such  treatment  arouses  bitter  resent- 
ment not  only  against  individuals  who  are 
immediately  responsible  but  also  against  the 
race  and  the  religion  of  the  land  represented 
by  such  men. 

Most  frequently  these  very  unsatisfactory 
commercial  relations  are  operative  through 
the  influence  of  the  corrupt  lives  of  traders 
and  merchants.  This  constitutes  one  of  the 
greatest  stumbling  blocks  in  the  way  of 
Christianity.  Scattered  throughout  Turkey, 
the  Pacific  Islands,  all  parts  of  Asia  and  other 
non-Christian  lands  are  thousands  of  Western 
traders,  large  numbers  of  whom  are  exerting  a 
demoralizing  influence.  Lord  Bryce,  one  of 
the  best  informed  and  one  of  the  most  dis- 
cerning students  of  racial  conditions,  has  thus 
characterized  this  handicap  to  the  spread  of 
Christianity:  "Christianity  has  often  come 
to  them  as  a  religion  professed  by  adventurers, 
who,  bearing  the  Christian  name,  have 
despoiled  or  tricked  them  out  of  their  lands, 


108    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

who  have  exploited  their  mines,  who  have 
grown  rich  upon  their  labor,  who  have  ruined 
them  by  strong  drink,  who  have  treated 
them  with  roughness  and  with  scorn,  and 
sometimes  even  with  barbarity.  .  .  .  Such 
men  are  the  foul  scum  upon  the  advancing 
wave  of  civilization,  and  they  undo  and  un- 
teach  by  their  lives  what  Christianity  is 
teaching  by  its  precepts." 

The  vicious  practices  of  not  a  few  soldiers 
and  sailors  are  also  akin  to  what  has  been  said 
regarding  so  many  of  the  traders.  While 
words  of  highest  praise  should  be  spoken  of 
those  members  of  Western  armies  and  navies 
who  in  the  midst  of  indescribable  temptations 
have  preserved  their  Christian  standards, 
the  truth  requires  that  we  frankly  admit  the 
sad  and  tragic  fact  that  many  other  repre- 
sentatives of  these  Western  governments 
have  exerted  a  decidedly  opposite  influence. 
One  need  only  call  attention  to  the  zones 
of  contamination  around  the  cantonments 
in  India  and  the  too  prevalent  immoral 
practices  of  soldiers  and  sailors  on  shore 
leave  when  the  naval  vessels  or  army  trans- 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   109 

ports    are    in    the    ports   of    non-Christian 
countries. 

The  letting  down  of  standards  by  many 
Western  tourists  likewise  tends  to  undermine 
much  of  the  good  influence  of  the  Christian 
propaganda.  Here  reference  is  made  not  so 
much  to  examples  of  extravagance  and  gen- 
eral worldliness,  but  rather  to  the  question- 
able associations  and  habits  of  dissipation  of 
many  travelers  in  non-Christian  lands. 
Moreover,  the  attitude  of  superiority  which 
at  times  they  manifest  toward  members  of 
other  races  and  their  thoughtless  and  irrev- 
erent actions  while  visiting  places  which  have 
sacred  or  inspiring  associations  in  connection 
with  religious  or  other  institutions,  exert  a 
most  unfortunate  influence  against  Chris- 
tianity. Even  when  American  and  Euro- 
pean tourists  do  not  depart  from  their 
ethical  and  religious  standards  or  give  them- 
selves to  actions  which  behe  the  principles 
of  Christianity,  their  failure  to  interest 
themselves  in  the  work  of  the  mission- 
aries and  to  identify  themselves  in  an 
open    way  with    the    Christian    movement 


no    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

cannot  but  weaken   the   impact   of   Chris- 
tianity. 

The  spread  of  the  physical  temptations 
and  evils  of  the  West  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  serious  aspects  of  the  unfavorable  im- 
pact of  Western  lands  upon  non-Christian 
peoples.  The  multiplication  of  points  of 
contact  with  the  West  has  introduced  among 
these  peoples  new  temptations  as  well  as 
added  intensity  and  virulence  to  old  temp- 
tations. What  a  record  against  the  fair 
name  of  a  great  Christian  power  has  been 
its  complicity  in  helping  to  fasten  the  opium 
curse  upon  China.  In  the  whole  history  of 
moral  reform  there  can  be  found  no  more 
inspiring  example  than  that  of  the  heroic  and 
apparently  remarkably  successful  effort  of 
the  Chinese  reformers  to  shake  off  this  terri- 
ble evil.  It  is  a  depressing  fact  that  by  far 
the  greatest  opposition  which  these  reform- 
ers encountered,  extending  to  the  very  recent 
past,  was  that  presented  by  representatives 
of  a  Christian  government  who,  with  almost 
incredible  persistency  and  force,  stedfastly 
resisted  the  efforts  to  eliminate  this  great 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   111 

evil.  The  comprehensive,  persistent  and 
vigorous  measures  employed  by  Western 
firms  to  introduce  cigarettes  among  the  tens 
of  millions  of  the  youth  of  China  is  another 
modern  illustration  of  the  same  kind.  Hun- 
dreds of  able  agents  have  been  stationed  in  all 
parts  of  China  for  this  purpose;  and  it  is  said 
that  when  they  enter  a  new  place  there  is  for 
days  a  free  distribution  of  cigarettes,  even 
among  small  boys. 

The  drink  evil  also  was  introduced  among 
non-Christian  peoples  by  emissaries  from 
Western  nations.  Prior  to  the  opening  up 
of  relations  with  the  West  this  evil  was  com- 
paratively unknown  in  lands  of  the  Far  East, 
such  as  Japan,  China  and  Korea.  Moreover, 
the  responsibility  must  ever  rest  upon  Chris- 
tian nations  for  the  introduction  of  liquor 
into  all  Moslem  lands.  It  is  a  striking  fact 
that  Mohammedanism  and  Hinduism  both 
forbid  the  drinking  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
Christian  nations  have  fixed  upon  the  fol- 
lowers of  these  religions  a  great  physical  evil, 
have  caused  them  to  do  violence  to  their  con- 
science and  their  religion,  and  have  blunted 


112    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

their  sense  of  right  and  wrong.  What  must 
be  the  feehngs  of  Christians  from  the  West 
who  hear,  as  one  often  does  hear  in  Moham- 
medan lands,  the  remark  "drunk  as  a  Chris- 
tian." Among  the  pagan  millions  of  Africa 
and  in  the  Pacific  Islands  may  be  seen  the 
worst  ravages  of  the  drink  demon.  It  is  re- 
ported that  in  Sierra  Leone,  Nigeria  and  the 
Gold  Coast  in  1911  there  were  imported 
6,500,000  gallons  of  spirituous  liquor  of  Euro- 
pean manufacture;  and  that  in  the  Gold 
Coast  alone  a  million  cases  of  spirits  are  re- 
tailed every  year.  Drunkenness  is  on  the 
increase  in  all  parts  of  Africa.  With  truth, 
therefore,  it  may  be  said  that  so-called  Chris- 
tian nations  have  been  responsible  not  only 
for  drugging  China  with  opium  but  for  de- 
bauching Africa  with  alcohol. 

It  must  be  admitted  also  that  much  of  the 
gross  immorality  all  over  Asia  and  Africa  is 
traceable  to  Western  influence.  Men  of  the 
West  have  helped  to  make  Eastern  ports 
what  Charles  Darwin  in  his  day  called  '^  moral 
plague  spots."  Disorderly  houses  have  in- 
creased in  the  Near  East  as  well  as  in  the  Far 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION    113 

East.  The  growing  immorality  in  South 
Africa  is  traceable  to  the  depravity  of  natives 
stimulated  by  contact  with  the  evils  of  civili- 
zation. That  this  is  true  is  made  clear  by  the 
testimony  of  investigators  who  contrast  con- 
ditions to-day  with  what  they  were  one  or  two 
generations  ago.  The  large  number  of  illegiti- 
mate children  in  German  Africa  made  neces- 
sary recent  startling  action  in  the  Reichstag 
of  Germany.  The  widespread  custom  among 
European  and  American  traders  of  keeping 
concubines  presents  necessarily  a  terrible 
obstacle  to  the  spread  of  Christianity.  What 
an  occasion  for  humiliating  reflection  is  the 
fact  that  some  of  the  chiefs  on  the  Lower 
Congo  forbid  the  women  and  girls  of  their 
towns  to  go  to  the  railroad  towns  even  to 
trade  because  they  recognize  that  these 
centers  are  the  source  of  unnameable  evils.. 
The  pitiful  conditions  that  obtain  at  the 
settlements  in  mining  communities,  oil  fields 
and  construction  camps  where  European  and 
American  men  are  concentrated  in  various 
parts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  would  seem  almost 
unbelievable  to  those  who  had  not  had  occa- 


114    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

sion  to  observe  the  facts  at  first  hand.  It  is 
a  solemn  reflection  that  the  vices  of  Western 
life  seem  to  work  with  added  deadliness 
among  the  peoples  of  more  simple  civiliza- 
tions and  of  the  less  highly  organized  races, 
such  as  those  of  Africa,  Oceania  and  parts 
of  Asia. 

There  are  certain  unfavorable  influences  in 
the  realm  of  education  which  are  unfor- 
tunately traceable  to  so-called  Christian 
lands.  In  nearly  every  city  of  the  Orient  and 
in  other  parts  of  the  non-Christian  world  may 
be  found  works  of  infidel  authors  such  as 
Ingersoll,  Voltaire  and  Bradlaugh.  Moreover, 
materialistic,  agnostic  and  rationalistic  litera- 
ture setting  forth  many  of  the  unchristian 
teachings  and  ideas  of  such  men  as  Huxley, 
Spencer,  Nietzsche,  Haeckel  and  Schopen- 
hauer has  been  translated  and  is  being 
widely  read  in  the  vernaculars  in  all  parts  of 
the  Far  East  and  Near  East.  For  example, 
some  of  the  best  scholars  in  China  are  en- 
gaged in  bringing  out  such  translations.  The 
latest  writings  of  destructive  criticism,  of 
theosophy  and  kindred  cults,   and  of  the 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   115 

philosophy  of  despair  quickly  find  their  way 
to  Japan,  as  well  as  to  other  countries  which 
are  in  touch  with  the  West,  and  are  repro- 
duced and  widely  circulated.  Japan  is  cer- 
tainly an  extraordinary  welter  of  conflicting 
ideas  and  tendencies.  Count  Okuma  is 
quoted  by  Commission  IV  of  the  Edinburgh 
Conference  as  saying:  "Japan  at  present  may 
be  Hkened  to  a  sea  into  which  a  hundred  cur- 
rents of  Oriental  and  Occidental  thought  have 
poured,  and,  not  yet  having  effected  a  fusion, 
are  raging  wildly,  tossing,  warring,  roaring," 
Attention  should  also  be  called  to  the  de- 
velopment in  the  Far  East  and  in  Southern 
Asia,  as  well  as  in  Latin  America,  and  now 
beginning  also  in  the  Near  East,  of  vast  ex- 
panding systems  of  Western  education  com- 
pletely dominated  by  secularism,  and,  as  a 
rule,  by  agnosticism.  These  constitute  a 
great  menace  to  the  spread  of  true  Christi- 
anity. 

Another  evidence  of  the  unfavorable  im- 
pact of  Western  civilization  is  seen  in  the  re- 
laxing and  breaking  down  of  the  old-time 
sanctions  of  the  non-Christian  civilizations. 


116    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Non-Christian  nations  and  peoples  have  one 
by  one  come  to  see  that  they  must  assimilate 
our  Western  knowledge  and  science  if  they 
are  to  maintain  or  regain  their  independence. 
Experience  shows  that  this  is  likely  to  mean 
the  destruction  or  radical  transformation  of 
most  of  their  ancient  faiths.  Such  an  unset- 
tling process  is  attended  with  grave  dangers. 
Possibly  the  greatest  peril  is  that  the  people 
may  be  left  without  any  restraint;  that  is, 
without  any  substitute  for  that  which  they 
have  given  up.  This,  for  example,  is  the  case 
with  a  multitude  of  the  students  of  Japan. 
The  blaze  of  modern  science  has  dissolved 
faith  in  Buddhism  and  its  ethical  restraints 
have  been  thrown  off.  Well  does  it  prompt 
the  serious  question  of  Count  Okuma, 
^'Whether  we  have  not  lost  moral  fiber  as  the 
result  of  the  many  new  influences  to  which 
we  have  been  subjected."  The  same  situa- 
tion seems  to  obtain  among  an  increasing 
number  of  the  students  in  India,  China  and 
the  Near  East.  Lord  William  Cecil  takes 
the  position  that  "  it  had  been  well  for  the 
world  to  be  left  with  the  imperfect  light  of 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   117 

Confucius,  with  the  dull  darkness  of  Bud- 
dhism, than  to  have  been  plunged  into  the 
heU  and  misery  of  materialism."  All  fair- 
minded  observers  of  the  conditions  in  non- 
Christian  countries  must  admit  that  while 
certain  of  the  old  customs  were  immoral  and 
bad,  others  had  a  good  influence  upon  con- 
duct; that  these  ancient  systems  served  to 
hold  society  together;  that  such  commend- 
able virtues  as  they  possessed  rested  upon 
old  customs;  but  that  our  material  civiHza- 
tion  has  broken  down  the  old  habits  and 
methods  of  Hving,  and,  without  doubt,  has 
rooted  out  some  of  the  wheat  along  with  the 
tares.  The  social  life  of  the  child  races  of 
Africa,  exposed  to  the  inrush  of  a  civilization 
which  they  cannot  understand  or  resist,  has 
been  disintegrated,  and  these  people  have 
thus  often  been  left  without  any  restraint. 

In  different  parts  of  the  non-Christian 
world  women  are  being  placed  in  a  most 
dangerous  position  under  the  influence  of  the 
woman's  movement  of  the  West.  The  desire 
for  freedom  has  been  widely  imparted  before 
the  women  of  these  nations  have  received  the 


118    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

protection  of  laws  and  conventions  which 
alone  make  possible  the  safeguarding  of  that 
freedom.  They  are  emerging  from  many_ 
centuries  of  seclusion,  but  have  not  yet  been 
prepared  for  the  larger  liberty.  It  is  indeed 
most  perilous  to  give  Western  material  civil- 
ization to  the  peoples  of  Asia  and  Africa 
without  at  the  same  time  strengthening  their 
moral  and  spiritual  forces.  Western  civiliza- 
tion disintegrates  and  dissolves,  and,  there- 
fore, must  be  dangerous  unless  accompanied 
by  a  constructive  work  which  will  restore  and 
reestablish  the  moral  and  religious  bases  of 
national  life.  It  is  of  transcendent  impor- 
tance that  the  Christians  of  Europe  and 
America  shall  come  to  see  vividly  that  West- 
ern civilization  has  thus  created  in  Africa  and 
Asia  social,  moral  and  religious  problems  of 
overwhelming  magnitude  and  gravity. 

The  unfavorable  impression  made  upon 
the  people  of  non-Christian  lands  while  visiting 
or  residing  in  Christian  countries  constitutes 
another  serious  aspect  of  our  unchristian 
impact  on  the  non-Christian  world.  Think 
of  the  influence  exerted  on  the  members  of 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   119 

pagan  African  tribes  who  go  to  work  in  the 
mining  compounds  of  South  Africa.  In 
Johannesburg,  for  example,  natives  cannot 
walk  on  the  sidewalks  with  white  men  but 
must  keep  to  the  middle  of  the  street  with 
the  horses  and  oxen.  As  the  more  indepen- 
dent and  ambitious  members  of  these  tribes 
return  to  their  people  in  the  sub-continent  or 
beyond  the  Zambesi,  what  damaging  reports 
they  must  bear  regarding  the  treatment  they 
have  received.  We  do  well  also  to  give 
larger  heed  to  the  feelings  engendered  among 
British  Indians  in  South  Africa  and  in  British 
Columbia,  among  Chinese  and  Japanese  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  of  America  and  among  Las- 
cars visiting  European  ports.  A  Hindu  in 
commenting  on  the  treatment  which  some 
of  his  people  had  received  in  one  of  these 
Christian  lands  asked,  "Wherein  is  it  better 
than  the  treatment  given  the  pariah  by  the 
Brahman?"  The  unsympathetic  and  un- 
kind actions  and  the  indignities  to  which 
certain  Chinese  students  entering  ports  of 
the  United  States  and  Canada  have  been 

subjected,  or  British  Indian  and  Egyptian 
g 


120    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

students  in  England  and  Scotland,  or  Jap- 
anese at  times  in  Germany,  are  not  forgotten. 
These  picked  young  men  return  to  live  among 
their  people,  and  in  positions  of  leadership 
as  statesmen,  or  as  editors,  teachers,  or  in 
unofficial  walks  of  life,  they  constitute  a  great 
barrier  to  the  spread  of  Christianity.  It  is 
not  only  the  unchristian  treatment  given 
to  foreign  immigrants  and  travelers  while  in 
Christian  lands,  but  also  what  they  there  see 
of  the  unchristian  aspects  of  our  civilization 
which  likewise  militates  against  the  triumph 
of  Christianity  in  the  non-Christian  world. 
As  they  see  for  themselves  the  shocking  prac- 
tical denials  of  Christ  in  our  commercial,  in- 
dustrial, social  and  political  practice  they 
cannot  but  say,  "  If  Christianity  cannot  drive 
out  these  devils  in  the  lands  where  it  has  long 
been  prevalent,  why  should  we  believe  in  it?  " 
Enough  has  already  been  stated  to  make 
it  evident  that  by  far  the  greatest  obstacle 
to  the  world-wide  spread  of  the  Christian 
religion  is  the  unchristian  impact  of  our 
Western  civilization.  That  impact  must  be 
Christianized.     There  are  not  two  sides  to 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   121 

the  question.  This  must  be  done  because 
civihzation  alone  will  not  civilize.  Dr.  James 
Stewart,  who  had  had  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities to  study  the  effect  of  the  most  civil- 
ized nations  in  their  contact  with  Africa, 
quoted  approvingly  the  declaration  of  James 
Chalmers  of  New  Guinea:  "I  have  never  seen 
a  savage  whom  civilization  without  Chris- 
tianity had  succeeded  in  civilizing."  Well 
did  Dr.  Stewart  insist  that  what  is  needed 
throughout  the  Dark  Continent  is  a  Chris- 
tian civilization,  ''not  a  non-Christian  one 
with  the  seven  devils  of  the  vices  of  modern 
civihzation  entering  the  house,  and  making 
the  latter  end  worse  than  the  beginning." 
What  he  states  about  Africa  could  be  said 
with  like  force  about  Asia  and  other  parts  of 
the  non-Christian  world. 

The  impact  of  our  Western  civilization 
must  be  Christianized  because  that  civiliza- 
tion as  now  extending  misrepresents  us.  It 
is  untrue  to  our  best.  We  should  be  true  to 
our  best  selves  as  Western  nations,  that  is, 
to  our  Christian  life  and  principles.  We 
should  not  longer  stand  in  a  false  light. 


122    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

America  (and  the  same  could  be  said  of  cer- 
tain other  Western  nations)  is  Christian  in  its 
foundation.  Christian  in  its  traditions,  Chris- 
tian in  its  strongest  elements,  Christian  in 
its  predominant  sentiment  and  aspiration. 
The  late  Justice  Brewer  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  declared  that  the  United 
States  is  not  a  non-religious  nation  but  a 
Christian  nation.  It  is  the  duty,  therefore, 
of  American  Christians  to  see  that  a  Chris- 
tian impression  is  made  upon  other  lands  by 
their  country. 

We  must  Christianize  our  impact  as  West- 
em  nations  in  order  to  make  amends  for  the 
evil  which  we  have  done.  We  have  allowed 
the  non-Christian  peoples  to  see  much  of  our 
worst;  we  are  under  obHgation  now  to  allow 
them  to  see  more  of  our  best.  As  deadly 
poison  has  been  taken  from  our  shores  to 
these  lands,  so  also  should  we  bear  to  them 
the  only  sufficient  antidote.  The  searching 
question  of  Lord  Bryce  should  determine 
more  largely  our  practice:  "Are  not  we  whose 
conquering  march  has  destroyed  the  customs 
and  beliefs  of  these  backward  races,  are  not 


IMPACT  OF  WESTERN  CIVILIZATION   123 

we  responsible  for  their  future?  Are  not  we 
bound  to  turn  to  account  for  their  good  these 
changes  which  we  have  wrought?'^ 

The  ultimate  triumph  of  pure  Christianity 
in  non-Christian  lands  depends  absolutely 
upon  Christianizing  this  impact.  Only  a 
Christianity  powerful  enough  to  dominate 
all  our  social,  national  and  international  life 
and  relationships  will  finally  commend  itself 
to  the  peoples  to  whom  we  go.  It  should 
solemnize  us  also  to  remember  that  the 
triumph  of  Christianity  on  the  home  field 
equally  depends  upon  Christianizing  this 
impact.  If  we  neglect  any  race  or  people 
which  may  have  been  tainted  by  evils  origi- 
nating among  us,  our  sin  of  omission  will  find 
us  out.  If  the  evils  which  have  spread  from 
among  us  to  the  backward  lands  and  races 
are  not  counteracted,  then  inevitably  there 
will  be  in  return  a  reactive  effect  of  the  most 
serious  character. 


HOW  THE   IMPACT  OF  OUR  WEST- 
ERN  CIVILIZATION  MAY  BE 
CHRISTIANIZED 


HOW  THE  IMPACT  OF  OUR  WEST- 
ERN CIVILIZATION   MAY   BE 
CHRISTIANIZED 

In  view  of  the  facts  and  considerations 
set  forth  in  the  last  chapter,  there  is  needed 
a  large  constructive  pohcy  which  will  result 
in  Christianizing  increasingly  this  impact  of 
Western  civilization  upon  the  non-Christian 
world.  This  policy  must  deal  with  the  prob- 
lem at  home  as  well  as  abroad.  On  the 
foreign  field  it  can  best  be  dealt  with  by 
greatly  expanding  the  missionary  move- 
ment. Experience  shows  that  this  is  by 
far  the  greatest  single  influence  to  counter- 
act the  bad  influences  of  our  civihzation. 
It  also  teaches  that  it  is  the  course  of  wis- 
dom to  preempt  regions  to  which  the  evil 
influences  may  not  yet  have  spread.  Every 
department  of  missionary  work  is  valuable 
and  should   be   enlarged,  but   for  the  pur- 

127 


128    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

pose  here  in  mind  certain  phases  of  the  work 
may  be  more  effective  than  others.  On  every 
field  educational  missions  are  indispensable 
to  counteract  unfavorable  intellectual  in- 
fluences exerted  from  Western  lands.  In 
fields  like  Africa,  China  and  Turkey  medical 
missions  constitute  a  powerful  evidence  of 
the  transforming  influence  of  Christianity. 
They  show  its  ability  to  re-create  and  build 
up  the  physical  life  of  the  people  just  as 
certain  evils  of  the  West  have  shown  their 
deadly  power  to  injure  this  life.  Christian 
apologetic  lectures  and  hterature  are  im- 
peratively demanded  in  the  educational 
centers  of  Asia  and  Latin  America  to  offset 
the  agnostic  and  rationalistic  attacks  upon 
the  Christian  positions.  The  spread  of  the 
Christian  Student  Movement,  especially 
among  the  vast  government  student  popula- 
tions, can  possibly  do  more  than  any  other 
one  factor  to  influence  right  thinking  and 
right  relationships  among  the  leaders  of  to- 
morrow. 

Doubtless  the  most  potent  single  influence 
exerted  by  the  missionary  is  through  the 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        129 

object  lesson  of  his  home.    Each  missionary 
home  is  a  center  of  vital  contagion.    Who  can 
measure  the   power  of  even   one  devoted, 
Christlike  missionary?     He  is  an  example 
and  a  convincing  apologetic  of  the  truth  of 
his  religion.     He  is  an  interpreter  to  non- 
Christian  peoples  of  the  best  side  of  our 
Western  civilization.     He  is  an  ambassador 
of  all  that  is  most  truly  Christian  in  our  life. 
He  is  a  teacher  and  a  leader  of  the  forces  of 
righteousness.     Even  in  the  sphere  of  his 
daily  calling  and  of  his  regular  missionary 
activity  he  does  more  than  all  other  factors 
to  offset  the  deadly  influence  of  the  unchris- 
tian aspects  of  Western  civilization.     It  is 
desirable,  however,  that  more  missionaries 
be  led  to  seek  directly  to  overcome  the  great 
evils  due  to  the  unchristian  impact  of  our 
civilization.     Who  can  overstate  the  extent 
of  the  good  accomplished  by  Bishop  Brent 
by   throwing   himself    into    the    antiopium 
propaganda,   in   connection  with  which  he 
acquired   a   position   of   unique   leadership. 
The  influence  of  Livingstone  in  making  pos- 
sible the  abolition  of  the  slave  traffic  was 


130    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

greater  than  that  of  hundreds  of  men  of 
strength  in  other  walks  of  life. 

Special  efforts  should  be  put  forth  to  sur- 
round with  good  influences  the  men  who  go 
out  to  represent  us  in  commercial  and  other 
secular  pursuits.  These  men  are  exposed 
to  special  temptations  and  dangers.  Often 
the  very  climate  is  unfavorable  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  highest  efficiency.  Moreover, 
our  young  men  are  thrown  in  the  midst  of 
strange  civilizations  and  removed  from  the 
restraining  influence  of  the  ideals,  standards, 
customs,  institutions  and  associations  of 
Christian  lands.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that 
they  are  often  isolated  from  their  fellows, 
and  it  is  not  strange  that  so  many  of  them 
succumb  to  the  temptations  to  which  they 
are  subjected.  In  these  new  lands  they  find 
virtually  all  the  old  temptations  with  which 
we  are  familiar  in  the  West,  but  manifesting 
themselves,  especially  in  the  port  cities  of 
the  non-Christian  world,  with  much  more 
intensity  and  subtlety.  Besides  these  they 
are  called  upon  to  face  certain  temptations 
which  are  entirely  new  to  them.     It  is  not 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        131 

surprising  that  there  are  so  many  examples  of 
moral  collapse  and  wreckage,  and  of  lapses 
from  the  Christian  faith.  The  gravestones 
in  the  cemeteries  that  surround  the  port 
cities  tell  the  story.  The  men  who  do  not 
yield  to  temptation  are  the  exceptions.  In 
certain  of  these  cities  the  young  men  of 
Europe  and  America  who  have  lived  there 
for  a  time  and  have  yielded  to  the  prevailing 
temptations,  challenge  the  newcomer  and 
predict  that  within  so  many  weeks  he  too  will 
become  a  prey  to  the  same  influences.  This 
proves  to  be  sadly  true  in  far  too  many  cases. 
The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
has  shown  itself  to  be  an  agency  specially 
adapted  to  help  the  young  men  of  the  West 
under  these  trying  circumstances.  It  min- 
isters helpfully  to  all  sides  of  their  nature. 
It  affords  pleasant  and  profitable  occupations 
for  their  leisure  hours.  It  introduces  them 
into  the  best  companionships  and  society. 
It  opens  up  opportunities  for  unselfish  serv- 
ice. It  wages  uncompromising  warfare 
against  the  enemies  of  young  men.  Being 
a  world  brotherhood  with  branches  estab- 


132    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

lished  in  nearly  all  cities  of  the  world,  it  is 
able  to  pass  young  men  on  from  center  to 
center,  and  to  introduce  them  to  reliable  and 
interested  people  everywhere.  It  should  be 
more  widely  extended,  and  should  be  pro- 
vided with  good  buildings  and  able  secre- 
taries in  every  port  city,  as  well  as  in  every 
other  center  where  any  considerable  number 
of  young  men  from  the  West  congregate. 
Moreover,  it  is  hoped  that  the  day  will  come 
when  similar  facilities  may  be  afforded  for 
the  more  limited  numbers  of  representatives 
of  the  West  who  gather  in  army  and  navy 
posts,  mining  camps,  manufacturing  centers, 
oil  fields  and  political  capitals. 

There  is  need  of  multiplying  and  maintain- 
ing more  generously  ably  led  churches  for  Eu- 
ropean and  American  communities  in  Asia, 
Africa  and  Latin  America.  What  has  been 
done  in  certain  port  cities  of  the  Far  East 
shows  the  rare  value  of  this  agency.  Con- 
structive work  of  this  kind,  promoted  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Committee  on  Providing 
Churches  for  Anglo-American  Communities 
in  Mission  Fields,  should  be  supported  much 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        133 

inore  generously  by  the  Christians  of  different 
denominations.  Similar  provision  should  be 
made  for  representatives  of  the  countries  of 
*^he  Continent  of  Europe.  There  is  demand 
also  for  better  treatment  of  'Hhe  domiciled 
communities"  in  India.  These  communities 
include  all  persons  of  English  blood  and  de- 
scent in  whatever  degree  who  speak  English, 
and  have  made  or  intend  to  make  their  home 
in  India.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has 
done  better  in  this  respect  than  the  Protes- 
tant bodies.  During  the  past  thirty  years 
in  India  the  number  of  its  communicants 
among  this  class  has  greatly  increased,  where- 
as among  Protestants  there  has  been  an  an- 
nual falling  off. 

More  missionaries  should  open  their  homes 
to  the  young  men  of  the  foreign  communities. 
If  necessary  their  Boards  should  provide 
them  with  an  additional  allowance  to  make 
possible  the  entertainment  and  cultivation 
of  these  young  men  from  the  West.  The 
Boards  should  also  instruct  their  new  mis- 
sionaries so  that  they  will  recognize  that  they 
owe  a  Christian  duty  to  every  European  and 


134    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

American,  as  well  as  to  the  Asiatics  or  Africans 
to  whom  they  go.  Through  all  these  varied 
activities  the  objective  should  be  not  alone 
to  conserve  the  character  and  faith  of  the 
young  men  of  the  West  who  represent  us  in 
commerce,  in  industry,  in  government  service 
and  in  other  relations,  but  also  to  wield  them 
as  a  force  in  advancing  the  interests  of  Chris- 
tianity. To  this  end  they  should  be  edu- 
cated regarding  Christian  missions,  and 
should  be  related  to  definite  opportunities 
for  service  where  their  particular  gifts  and 
experience  can  be  made  to  count  most. 

The  official  representatives  of  Western 
Christian  nations  or  governments  should 
maintain  high  Christian  standards  in  all 
their  dealings  with  the  non-Christian  peoples. 
A  Christian  nation  should  practise  Chris- 
tianity just  as  truly  as  should  an  individual. 
It  was  said  of  Gladstone:  ''He  resisted  with 
his  whole  might  the  odious  contention  that 
moral  progress  in  the  relations  of  nations  and 
states  to  one  another  is  an  illusion  and  a 
dream."  John  Hay  wrote  the  name  of 
America  high  in  the  Far  East  when  he  in- 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        135 

sisted  that  the  Golden  Rule  should  apply  to 
nations  as  well  as  to  individuals.  President 
Wilson  is  standing  with  great  devotion  for 
the  same  policy  in  all  international  relations. 
Toward  the  non-Christian  nations,  whether 
they  be  strong  or  weak,  we  should  exercise  a 
spirit  of  restraint,  of  generous  confidence  in 
their  good-will,  and  of  unselfish  regard  for 
their  interests.  This  is  the  secret  of  overcom- 
ing any  feeling  of  alienatipn.  We  should 
treat  backward  races  and  nations  with  jus- 
tice, sympathy  and  kindness.  No  race  should 
be  regarded  as  inferior.  The  aim  should  be  to 
do  what  is  for  the  good  of  these  people  and 
not  for  our  own  selfish  advantage.  Ambas- 
sadors and  consuls  should  be  men  of  high 
character.  It  is  nothing  less  than  a  sin  to 
send  one  whose  life  contradicts  the  principles 
and  spirit  of  Christianity  to  represent  a  Chris- 
tian land  in  a  non-Christian  country.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  good 
accomplished  by  such  civilians  as  S.  Wells 
Williams  at  Peking,  Consul-general  Wilder 
in  different  parts  of  the  Far  East,  Governor 
Forbes  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  or  of  men 

10 


136    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

like  the  Lawrences,  or  like  Sir  Herbert 
Edwardes,  Sir  Charles  Eliot  and  Sir  Mack- 
worth  Young  in  India.  A  worthy  influence 
has  also  been  exerted  for  all  that  is  best  in 
our  civilization  by  the  object  lesson  and 
testimony  when  visiting  non-Christian  lands 
of  such  men  as  Senator  Root,  Colonel 
Roosevelt,  Lord  Bryce,  and  Mr.  Bryan. 

The  impact  of  our  Western  civilization 
must  be  Christianized,  not  only  where  this 
impact  is  made  in  the  non-Christian  world, 
but  also  where  it  is  made  at  the  home  base 
or  in  the  nominally  Christian  lands.  Much 
more  attention  must  be  given  to  immigrants 
from  the  non-Christian  countries.  There  are 
now  in  the  United  States  about  seventy-five 
thousand  Chinese  and  about  the  same  num- 
ber of  Japanese,  nearly  five  thousand  British 
Indians  and  a  few  hundreds  of  Koreans,  Fili- 
pinos and  natives  of  other  Oriental  countries. 
Besides  these  there  are  large  and  increasing 
numbers  from  the  Near  Eastern  fields  of  Asia 
and  the  needy  and  backward  fields  of  Eastern 
and  Southeastern  Europe.  Successful  efforts 
have  been  put  forth  on  behalf  of  Asiatics  not 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        137 

only  on  the  Pacific  Coast  and  in  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  but  also  in  a  number  of  the  princi- 
pal cities  of  the  East  and  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  All  this  work  should  be  expanded 
and  strengthened.  It  is  not  an  impossible 
task  so  to  develop  helpful  agencies  now  em- 
ployed that  virtually  every  one  of  these  Asi- 
atic inmiigrants  may  be  surrounded  with 
definitely  Christian  influences. 

The  present  is  a  most  critical  moment  in 
the  relations  of  countries  like  the  United 
States,  Canada,  Australia  and  South  Africa, 
_tG_  Oriental  immigrants.  Nothing  is  to  be 
gained  by  minimizing  the  gravity  of  the 
situation.  Serious  as  the  problem  is,  it  can 
be  solved.  How  important  it  is  that  we 
hold  the  trust  and  friendship  of  Japan  and 
China  through  the  kindly  courtesies  and  just 
treatment  of  their  representatives  among  us. 
The  Christians  of  America  possess  the  key 
to  the  solution  of  the  problem.  Count  Okuma 
was  right  in  the  statement  which  he  made 
several  months  ago  in  Tokyo  that  this  prob- 
lem cannot  be  solved  by  warfare,  diplomacy 
or  legislation,  but  only  by  the  Christians  of 


138    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

America  applying  their  principles  to  these 
practical  problems  of  international  life.  Men 
of  the  largest  influence  in  public  life  must 
be  led  to  give  profound  study  to  the  racial 
problems  from  the  point  of  view  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  should  become  the  subject  of 
earnest  inquiry  on  the  part  of  editors,  clergy- 
men and  educators.  If  these  leaders  of 
thought  and  action  have  right  views  and  are 
animated  by  the  proper  spirit,  then  the  large 
body  of  citizens  of  the  land  will  be  led  to  wise 
action. 

Nothing  less  than  a  comprehensive  cam- 
paign of  education  and  friendship  must  be 
waged  up  and  down  the  whole  land  to  create 
and  maintain  a  right  attitude  and  feeling 
toward  other  races.  At  present  the  attitude 
of  most  of  the  people  is  characterized  too 
much  by  haughtiness,  a  sense  of  superiority 
and  a  feeling  of  suspicion  and  fear.  It  is 
evident  that  they  think  of  the  people  of  other 
lands  and  races  too  much  as  aliens.  This 
betokens  aloofness  and  conflicts  with  the 
Christian  ideal  according  to  which  there  are 
'^no  more  strangers  and  foreigners"  but  only 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        139 

''fellow  citizens."     This  lends  large  signifi- 
cance to  the  helpful  activities  of  organizations 
like  the  Japan   Society   and   like  the  Pan- 
American  Union.     An  enormous  service  is 
also  being  rendered  by  such  agencies  as  the 
Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace, 
the  Church  Peace  Union,  the  World  Peace 
Foundation,   and  the  American  Association 
for  International  Concihation.    The  visits  of 
representatives  of  these  societies  and  of  ex- 
change professors,  such  as  President  Jordan 
of    Leland  Stanford   University,  Dr.  Ham- 
ilton   Mabie,    ex-President    Eliot,  Professor 
Francis  Peabody,   Dr.   Nitobe   a'nd    Baron 
Kikuchi,   have   been   of   incalculable   value 
in    promoting    right    thinking    and    feeling 
on  the  part  of  different  races  toward  each 
other.    That  race  will  be  most  blessed  which 
gives  to  all  the  other  races  of  its  very  best 
with  generous  hand,  not  in  fear  and  not  with 
ulterior  motives  but  with  sincere  recognition 
of  all  that  is  good  in  others  and  with  unself- 
ish motives;  and  which  in  all  its  intercourse 
tries  to  see  with  the  other's  eyes  and  to  sym- 
pathize with  the  other's  hopes. 


140    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Even  more  important  is  it  that  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  West  promote  friendly  relations 
among  foreign  students  now  pursuing  their 
studies  among  us.  There  are  large  student 
migrations  from  non-Christian  lands  to  the 
United  States.  While  the  number  of  Japa- 
nese in  American  schools  and  colleges  may 
not  be  quite  as  large  as  it  was  in  the  '80's  of 
the  last  century,  nevertheless  there  are  at  the 
present  time  probably  not  less  than  twelve 
hundred  Japanese  students  in  these  institu- 
tions. The  number  of  British  Indians  study- 
ing in  America  is  larger  than  ever  and  bids 
fair  to  continue  to  increase.  Within  a  decade 
the  number  of  Chinese  students  in  American 
colleges  and  universities  has  increased  from  a 
few  scores  to  over  one  thousand.  It  may 
surprise  many  to  know  that  there  are  also  in 
the  colleges  of  the  United  States  over  fifteen 
hundred  Latin-American  students.  The 
number  from  Near-Eastern  countries,  while 
not  large,  is  growing.  These  foreign  students 
will,  on  their  return  to  their  native  lands, 
wield  an  influence  out  of  all  proportion  to 
their  number.     From  their  ranks  wiU  come 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        141 

many  of  the  leaders  in  all  the  more  important 
walks  of  life.  Happily  these  coming  leaders 
of  non-Christian  nations  are  peculiarly  ac- 
cessible and  responsive  to  friendship  while 
they  are  strangers  in  a  strange  land. 

The  best  agency  for  dealing  with  these 
large  and  increasing  numbers  of  foreign  stu- 
dents is  that  of  the  Christian  Student  Move- 
ments among  both  men  students  and  women 
students.  Efficient  and  fruitful  as  has  been 
their  work  in  the  past,  the  time  has  come 
when  these  organizations  should  plan  more 
comprehensively  to  influence  for  Christ  this 
important  class  of  students.  In  individual 
cities  or  universities  where  large  numbers  of 
foreign  students  from  one  or  more  countries 
are  concentrated,  it  is  desirable  that  local 
secretaries  be  employed  to  give  all  of  their 
time  to  this  work,  as  is  done,  for  example,  in 
New  York,  Berlin  and  London.  At  certain 
ports  of  embarkation  from  which  the  stu- 
dents sail  in  largest  numbers  special  work  for 
foreign  students  should  be  undertaken  similar 
to  that  conducted  so  successfully  by^  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  Shang- 


142    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

hai.  There  a  secretary  for  foreign  students 
is  stationed  who  serves  these  young  men  and 
women  in  every  way  in  his  power.  There  are 
certain  ports  of  arrival  where  it  is  more  prac- 
ticable to  organize  a  helpful  work  on  behalf 
of  foreign  students.  Beginnings  in  such  work 
have  been  made  at  San  Francisco,  New  York 
and  London.  Here  the  new  students  should 
all  be  given  a  friendly  welcome  and  every 
facility  be  placed  at  their  disposal. 

The  principal  work  and  influence  must  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  these  strangers  in  the 
particular  city  or  university  where  they 
spend  their  student  life.  The  Christian  As- 
sociation in  each  university  or  coUege  where 
there  is  even  one  foreign  student  should 
recognize  and  discharge  its  responsibility 
toward  him.  There  are  hundreds  of  colleges 
in  which  there  are  from  five  to  one  hundred 
or  more  foreign  students.  The  Association 
should  ensure  their  receiving  the  most 
thoughtful  attention  during  the  opening  days 
of  their  student  career  in  a  foreign  land.  A 
list  of  desirable  boarding  houses  which  will 
receive  foreign  students  should  be  prepared 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT       143 

and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  newcomers. 
Care  should  be  exercised  to  put  them  where 
their  fellow  lodgers  will  be  of  the  right  sort. 
In  some  of  the  great  cities  special  hostels  for 
foreign  students  should  be  established,  pro- 
vided these  be  properly  managed.  Appro- 
priate social  attention  and  special  courtesies 
should  be  extended  to  them.  Both  during 
term  time  and  in  vacations  they  should  be 
given  access  to  some  of  the  best  homes  in  the 
country.  Experience  shows  that  this  has 
been  one  of  the  most  potent  means  of  im- 
pressing for  good  young  men  and  young 
women  from  foreign  lands.  It  is  gratifying 
to  see  that  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Christian 
Student  Associations  the  homes  of  some  of 
the  most  distinguished  citizens  are  being 
opened  for  such  purposes.  ^ 

The  members  of  the  Christian  Associations 
in  the  West  need  instruction  in  order  to 
remove  their  ignorance  and  often  resulting 
discourtesy  in  their  relations  to  foreign  stn-j 
dents.  Everything  possible  should  be  done 
to  overcome  race  prejudice.  It  is  shameful 
to  hear  how  some  foreign  students  have  been 


144    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

treated  by  those  who  should  have  considered 
themselves  as  hosts  and  friends.  These 
young  men  and  young  women  from  abroad 
need  persons  who  will  actually  befriend  them, 
teach  them  Western  ways,  help  them  to  over- 
come their  first  strangeness  and  serve  as 
interpreters  of  the  best  side  of  the  life  of  the 
country  in  which  they  are  sojourning.  Where 
there  is  a  Cosmopolitan  Club  it  is  desirable 
that  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Christian 
Association  identify  themselves  with  its 
activities,  for  this  will  serve  to  multiply 
points  of  helpful  contact  with  the  students  of 
other  lands  and  races.  The  foreign  students 
should  be  enlisted  in  Bible  classes,  investiga- 
tion circles,  and  discussion  groups  for  the 
purpose  of  making  them  acquainted  with 
.  Christ  and  His  principles.  Professors  and 
students  of  recognized  scholastic  standing,  of 
intellectual  abihty,  of  tact  and  of  genuine 
religious  experience  should  be  appointed  to 
lead  the  groups.  It  is  this  intensive  work 
which  counts  most. 

These  foreign  students  should  be  led  to 
join  the  Christian  Association  and  should  be 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        146 

brought  under  the  influence  of  its  social 
service  activities  as  well  as  of  the  work  of  the 
Church.  In  fact,  they  should  be  made  more 
familiar  with  the  spiritual  side  of  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  country  than  with  any  other. 
Above  all,  there  should  be  much  friendly  per- 
sonal work  done  with  them.  The  best  results 
follow  from  this  siege  work,  in  connection 
with  which  one  Christian  student  comes  to 
know  in  a  very  intimate  way  at  least  one 
foreign  student  and  uses  every  opportunity 
to  influence  him  spiritually.  We  should  not 
stop  short  of  leading  these  students  from 
abroad  into  vital  union  with  Christ  and  His 
Church,  and  into  the  formation  of  such  habits 
as  will  ensure  their  adhering  to  their  new 
purposes  when  they  return  to  their  native 
land  and  are  exposed  again  to  its  temptations 
and,  it  may  be,  to  its  persecutions.  If  this 
campaign  of  friendship  be  made  sufficiently 
comprehensive  and  continuous  to  embrace 
every  foreign  student  who  comes  among  us, 
the  result  will  be  of  the  most  profound  and 
far-reaching  importance.  Possibly  no  one 
thing  can  be  done  by  Christian  forces  which 


\ 


146    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

will  do  more  to  accomplish  our  great  end. 
In  this  connection  attention  should  be 
called  likewise  to  the  vital  importance  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Churches  and  of  the  Christian 
agencies  giving  special  attention  to  dis- 
tinguished visitors  from  these  non-Christian 
countries. 

More  should  be  done  to  see  that  the  right 
kind  of  men  are  sent  out  to  represent  Chris- 
tian lands  in  the  commercial  and  industrial 
activities  in  the  non-Christian  world.  From 
a  business  point  of  view  it  would  be  greatly 
to  the  advantage  of  business  concerns,  in 
selecting  managers,  agents  and  salesmen 
to  represent  them  in  these  lands,  to  apply  a 
character  test  as  well  as  that  of  astuteness 
and  efficiency  in  business  matters.  If  even 
Christian  business  houses  did  their  duty  in 
this  respect  it  would  effect  a  marvelous 
change  for  the  better  in  the  commercial  im- 
pact of  the  West.  It  should  be  burned  in 
upon  the  leaders  of  these  corporations  and 
companies  that  a  Christian  business  concern 
which  sends  out  a  dissolute  man  to  represent 
it  in  a  non-Christian  country  is  disloyal  to 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT       147 

the  Christian  faith.  The  question  is  raised 
whether  the  ushering  in  of  a  better  day  in 
this  respect  might  not  best  be  accomplished 
through  such  an  efficient  interdenomina- 
tional agency  as  the  Laymen's  Missionary 
Movement.  This  Movement  unites  thou- 
sands of  the  most  progressive  and  influential 
Christian  laymen  in  all  Churches.  It  has 
acquired  a  valuable  experience  which  has 
given  it  the  confidence  of  men  of  affairs. 
Were  it  to  take  hold  of  this  matter  with  wis- 
dom and  earnestness,  its  voice  would  cer- 
tainly be  heeded. 

It  is  of  transcendent  importance  that  all 
the  Christian  forces  be  brought  to  bear  on 
Christianizing  our  own  civilization  at  home. 
If  we  wish  to  wage  a  triumphant  warfare  at 
the  front  we  must  have  no  untaken  forts  in 
our  rear.  It  is  well  ever  to  remember  that 
keen-eyed  representatives  of  non-Christian 
lands  are  traveling  and  dwelling  among  us 
and  see  the  unchristian  aspects  of  our  social 
order.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  explain  to 
them  that  these  are  due  not  to  Christ  but 
to  the  lack  of   Christ  and  to  the  lack  of 


\ 


148    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

the  application  of  His  principles.  A  demon- 
stration must  be  afforded  of  His  ability  to 
conquer  the  areas  of  social  injustice  and 
neglect  within  our  own  borders.  Christ  must 
dominate  our  unchristian  social  conditions, 
not  only  because  of  the  bad  example  we 
present  through  them,  but  also  because  such 
a  victory  is  essential  to  our  own  largest  vital- 
ity and  helpfulness  in  the  task  of  the  world- 
wide spread  of  Christianity.  As  Robert  E. 
Speer  has  pointed  out,  ''It  is  vain  to  send  out 
little  bands  over  the  world  to  preach  the 
Gospel  of  purity  and  peace,  love  and  power, 
if  in  our  social,  industrial  and  racial  condi- 
tions in  America  we  are  preaching  unclean- 
ness,  strife,  enmity  and  failure."  No  one 
can  easily  overstate  the  power  of  the  apolo- 
getic which  a  thoroughly  Christianized  Amer- 
ica would  present  and  exercise  in  the  non- 
Christian  world. 

Finally,  Christians  must  come  to  feel  a 
deeper  sense  of  personal  responsibility  to  do 
all  in  their  power  to  help  Christianize  this 
impact.  It  has  become  easy  for  Christians 
to  avoid  assuming  obligation  for  the  state 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  IMPACT        149 

of  society  or  civilization,  but  in  the  light  of 
the  example  and  teachings  of  Jesus  it  is  im- 
possible to  escape  such  responsibility.  There 
must  be  such  an  awakening  and  quickening 
of  conscience  among  Christians  throughout 
the  Churches  as  shall  lead  to  an  uprising  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  these  evils  among  us 
which  are  contrary  to  Christ  and  His  holy 
name  and  principles.  In  this  connection 
there  is  need  of  Christians  living  more  con- 
stantly under  the  sense  of  immediacy.  If 
the  evidence  is  wide-spread  that  the  touch 
of  Western  civihzation  without  Christianity 
does  harm,  then  it  is  nothing  less  than  sin- 
ful for  Christians  to  say  of  fields  like  China, 
Turkey  and  Africa,  as  they  virtually  have 
done  in  the  case  of  Japan,  "we  will  wait  until 
these  great  fields  are  injured  before  we  take 
adequate  steps  to  avert  such  a  calamity." 
Moreover,  Christians  should  lead  in  such 
prompt  and  wide  expansion  of  the  Christian 
religion  that  they  may  preempt  vast  regions 
to  which  the  vices  and  sins  of  corrupt  civili- 
zation have  not  yet  spread.  This  is  a  mo- 
ment when  the  Gospel  should  come  to  these 


150    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

peoples  both  as  a  beneficent  power  protect- 
ing them  from  the  deadly  evils  of  other  lands 
and  as  a  pure  religion  releasing  among  them 
new  energy  and  vitality. 


HOW    TO    ENSURE    CLOSER   CO- 
OPERATION AND  UNITY  ON 
THE   PART  OF  CHRISTIAN 
FORCES 


11 


VI 

HOW  TO  ENSURE  CLOSER  CO- 
OPERATION AND  UNITY  ON 
THE  PART  OF  CHRISTIAN 
FORCES 

Christian  missions  present  the  most  strik- 
ing example  of  Christian  unity  and  co-opera- 
tion to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  world. 
The  drawing  together  of  Christian  forces  in 
all  mission  lands  is  one  of  the  most  charac- 
teristic and  encouraging  facts  of  the  time. 
It  manifests  itself  in  many  ways.  It  is  ob- 
servable in  the  growing  spirit  and  practice  of 
comity.  The  principles  of  comity  are  now  to 
a  greater  or  less  degree  accepted  and  observed 
on  virtually  every  mission  field.  It  is  ob- 
servable likewise  in  the  plans  for  districting 
or  dividing  different  mission  fields,  such  as 
Korea,  West  China,  Mexico  and  the  Philip- 
pines. Another  illustration  is  the  countless 
interdenominational  conferences,  local,  sec- 
tional and  national,  which  are  being  held  by 

153 


154    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

missionaries  and  native  workers  on  the  dif- 
ferent fields.  Certain  interdenominational 
movements,  such  as  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  the  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian Association,  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society,  the  Sunday  School  Union,  all  of 
which  are  rendering  valuable  service  to  the 
Churches,  illustrate  and  markedly  promote 
the  spirit  and  practice  of  concerted  action. 

Missions  and  Churches  are  co-operating 
increasingly  in  various  forms  of  mission- 
ary activity.  They  join  with  freedom  in  all 
parts  of  the  world  for  the  translation,  pub- 
lication and  distribution  of  the  Scriptures. 
In  like  manner  they  have  formed  scores  of 
societies  for  the  preparation  and  circulation 
of  Christian  literature.  In  medical  educa- 
tion, in  the  preparation  of  medical  text-books 
and  in  the  conduct  of  hospitals  they  find  it 
practicable  and  advantageous  to  join.  In 
innumerable  forms  of  philanthropic  and 
Christian  social  betterment  work  they  are 
associating  their  efforts.  Joint  action  is  being 
taken  increasingly  by  different  Christian 
conmiunions  in  planning  and  conducting  edu- 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  155 

cational  institutions;  for  example,  the  num- 
ber of  Christian  union  colleges  and  universi- 
ties is  increasing  at  a  rapid  rate.  Some  Chris- 
tian bodies  are  finding  it  possible  to  unite 
even  in  theological  education.  The  largest 
and  most  fruitful  evangelistic  campaigns  owe 
their  success  to  the  fact  that  Christians  of 
different  names  join  forces  and  present  a 
united  front.  Meetings  for  united  interces- 
sion are  becoming  common  throughout  the 
mission  world. 

The  Churches  themselves  are  being  drawn 
together.  In  some  fields  this  takes  the  form 
of  a  federation  of  Churches.  In  others  there 
has  been  an  organic  union  effected  by  various 
denominations  belonging  to  the  same  family; 
for  example,  the  uniting  of  the  various  bodies 
of  Anglicans  in  China,  of  Methodists  in  Japan, 
and  of  Presbyterians  in  India.  On  some  mis- 
sion fields  the  movement  toward  church 
unity  has  been  carried  still  further;  for  exam- 
ple, in  South  India  several  Churches  of  dif- 
ferent ecclesiastical  families  have  formed  the 
'^United  Church  of  South  India."  On  the 
home  field  it  is  observable  that  the  drawing 


156    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

together  of  Christians  is  far  more  advanced 
with  reference  to  the  foreign  missionary  ac- 
tivities than  in  connection  with  any  other 
department  of  work;  for  instance,  the  Annual 
Conferences  of  representatives  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  Boards  and  their  various  supporting 
missionary  movements,  such  as  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign  Missions, 
the  Missionary  Education  Movement,  and 
the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement. 

One  of  the  most  significant  recent  develop- 
ments in  this  important  direction  was  the 
creation  at  the  Edinburgh  Conference  of  the 
Continuation  Committee  which  unites,  as  it 
were,  all  the  foreign  missionary  forces  par- 
ticipating in  that  most  notable  missionary 
gathering  ever  held.  In  this  Committee  and 
its  many  Special  Committees  the  leaders  of 
the  Missionary  Societies  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic  are  constantly  collaborating  in  in- 
vestigation and  in  wise  ways  are  facilitating 
the  work  of  co-ordination  and  co-operation. 
Similar  committees  have  quite  recently  been 
organized  on  each  of  the  principal  mission 
fields  of  Asia  to  promote  like  common  under- 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  157 

standing  and  action  on  the  part  of  all  the 
Missions  and  Churches. 

Notwithstanding  the  really  remarkable 
progress  which  has  been  made  throughout 
the  foreign  missionary  enterprise,  both  at  the 
front  and  at  the  home  base,  the  present  world 
situation  demands  that  the  Christians  of  our 
day  enter  into  far  closer  and  more  efficient  co- 
operation and  into  a  more  vital  unity.  The 
magnitude  of  the  task  renders  this  impera- 
tive.    With   a  situation   which   is  literally 


world-wide  in  its  extent  and  all  parts  of  which 
have  to  be  dealt  with  simultaneously,  the 
only  hope  of  coping  with  it  with  any  degree 
of  adequacy  is  by  concerted  plan  and  effort. 
The  overwhelming  difficulty  of  the  undertak- 
ing demands  more  intimate  co-operation  and 
a  more  real  unity.  Face  to  face  with  the 
powerfully  entrenched  systems  of  the  non- 
Christian  religions  nothing  less  than  unity 
of  spirit  and  action  can  prevail. 

The  unit}^  for  which  Christ  prayed  is  essen- 
tial to  a  convincing  apologetic.  In  the  pres- 
ence of  a  world  which  is  unbelieving  to  an 
extent  and  to  a  depth  which  is  fairly  over- 


A 


158    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

powering,  we  must  have  the  mighty  and  con- 
vincing evidence  which  Christ  obviously  had 
in  mind  when  He  prayed  that  we  all  might  be 
one.  An  unbelieving  world  is  the  price  paid 
for  a  divided  Christendom.  Unity  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  an  end  in  itself  but  as  a  means 
to  the  realization  of  the  great  objective  of  the 
conversion  of  the  world.  The  urgency  of  the 
world  situation  enforces  the  importance  of 
larger  co-operation  and  unity  on  the  part  of 
the  Christian  forces.  It  were  an  idle  dream 
to  talk  of  counteracting  the  alarming  perils 
of  our  day,  of  entering  the  marvelous  doors  of 
opportunity  which  are  ajar  in  every  field,  and 
of  taking  advantage  of  the  many  favoring 
influences  and  movements  which  so  character- 
ize our  time,  unless  we  effect  some  more  com- 
prehensive and  efficient  unification  of  the 
different  divisions  of  the  Christian  army.  At 
such  a  time,  if  ever,  the  trouble  and  the  sinful 
waste  of  time,  money  and  effort  due  to  any 
overlapping  or  duplication  should  be  avoided. 
On  parts  of  some  great  mission  fields  there 
are  doubtless  a  sufficient  number  of  mis- 
sionaries to  accomplish  the  thorough  plant- 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  159 

ing  of  Christianity  provided  they  were 
redistributed  and  properly  related  to  one 
another  by  a  unified  plan. 

The  lack  of  unity  goes  far  to  explain  the 
disappointing  weakness  in  much  missionary 
strategy.  In  visiting  some  mission  fields  to- 
day one  might  still  receive  the  impression  that 
there  were  thirty  or  more  separate  armies  all 
moving  toward  a  common  goal  but  without  a 
common  strategy.  In  view  of  the  remark- 
able recent  victories  of  Christianity  in  the 
non-Christian  world  even  without  united 
strategy  one  wonders  what  would  come  to 
pass  as  a  result  of  entering  into  a  truer  unity. 
It  would  without  doubt  lead  to  a  speedy  and 
complete  occupation  of  the  wide  field. 

There  is  growing  conviction  among  Chris- 
tian leaders  and  thoughtful  observers  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  world  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary or  desirable  to  reproduce  on  the  mission 
field  many  of  the  denominational  and  eccle- 
siastical differences  of  the  West,  not  a  few 
of  which  are  occidental,  incidental  and  un- 
essential, and  some  of  which  are  absurd  when 
transplanted   to   the   Orient.      It   is   to   be 


160    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

feared  that  some  of  them  are  even  unchris- 
tian, judged  by  Christ's  principles  and  by 
results.  Too  often  they  confuse  the  Chris- 
tians, weaken  testimony,  and  are  a  stumbling 
block  to  the  non-Christians.  Bishop  Sel- 
wyn's  words  are  weighty:  ^'We  make  a  rule 
never  to  introduce  controversy  among  a 
native  people.  My  observation,  covering 
one-half  of  the  Pacific  Islands,  has  shown 
that  wherever  this  law  of  religious  unity  is 
observed,  there  the  Gospel  is  in  its  full  un- 
checked and  undivided  power."  The  great 
object  on  every  mission  field  is  not  to  perpet- 
uate unnecessary  denominational  distinctions 
of  Christendom,  but  to  build  up  on  scriptural 
fines  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

In  view  of  the  overwhelming  need  for  a 
much  closer  drawing  together  of  all  those  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  extending  the  Christian 
religion  throughout  the  world,  it  is  well  to 
ponder  the  question.  How  bring  about  closer 
co-operation  and  unity?  This  question  can 
best  be  answered  by  fixing  attention  upon 
those  processes  by  which  a  larger  unity  may 
be  reafized.    In  the  first  place,  Christians  of 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  IGl 

different  names  should  cultivate  the  habit  of 
reminding  themselves  that  they  are  one.    One 
in  union  with  Christ  as  the  source  of  their 
life,  one  in  dominant  desire  to  become  more 
like  Him,  and  one  in  the  inspiring  objective 
to  make  His  reign  co-extensive  with  the  entire 
inhabited  earth — being   one   in   these  most 
vital  things  they  are  one,  whether  at  times 
they  think  they  are  or  not,  and  whether  at 
times  they  feel  that  they  are  or  not.     A 
citizen  of  one  country  who  for  many  years 
lives  in  some  foreign  land  may  be  out  of  touch 
with  much  that  concerns  his  native  land  and 
may  have  a  very  hazy  idea  of  the  require- 
ments of  citizenship  there,  but  this,  however, 
does  not  invahdate  the  fact  that  he  is  still 
a  citizen  of  his  country.     A  son  may  have 
moved  from  his  parent's  home  when  but  a 
lad  and  have  lived  away  from  it  so  long  that 
he  does  not  remember  clearly  his  own  father 
and  mother,  and  may  never  have  seen  some 
of  his  own  brothers  and  sisters,  but  this  does 
not  change  the  fact  that  he  is  still  a  mem- 
ber of  that  family.   It  is  well  that  Christians 
keep  dwelling  on  the  fact  that  they  arc  one 


162    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

with  all  Christians  who  acknowledge  in  truth 
the  deity  of  Our  Lord. 

Another  process  or  duty  of  Christians,  if 
they  are  to  enter  into  the  larger  unity  so  much 
demanded,  is  that  of  sincere  repentance  and 
confession.  If  we  dwell  upon  our  lack  of 
unity  and  love  the  sense  of  its  sinfulness  will 
deepen  within  us.  While  recognizing  God's 
free  mercies  and  blessings  even  in  spite  of 
much  intolerance,  uncharitableness  and  pride 
on  our  part,  let  us  not  obscure  the  fact  that 
such  things  are  wrong  in  the  sight  of  Christ 
and  in  the  light  of  His  purposes.  Not  until 
we  realize  this  with  sufficient  poignancy  to 
bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance  are  we 
likely  to  pay  the  other  prices  which  have  to  be 
paid  to  accomplish  the  drawing  together  of 
all  true  Christians  in  triumphant  unity.  As 
we  think,  therefore,  of  our  sins  of  aloofness, 
self-satisfaction  and  haughtiness,  and  likewise 
of  our  sins  of  the  tongue,  let  us  make  frank 
confession  and  turn  from  them.  Christians 
should  not  speak  lightly  or  superficially  of 
the  advantages  of  their  divisions.  Such  bene- 
fits as  they  may  think  themselves  able  to 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  163 

trace  to  disunion  are  not  so  much  due  to 
division  as  in  spite  of  it. 

The  time  has  come  when  Christians  should 
busy  themselves  more  with  the  process  of 
considering  and  seeking  to  understand  the 
differences  which  separate  them  from  one 
another  and  the  causes  which  have  brought 
about  these  differences.  It  is  well  for  a  Chris- 
tian to  make  it  a  rule  to  try  to  put  himself  in 
the  position  of  those  who  differ  from  him. 
We  should  also  try  to  learn  from  one  another. 
Thus  we  can  help  to  develop  what  the  Bishop 
of  Oxford,  in  speaking  of  the  Edinburgh  Con- 
ference, so  happily  characterized  as  the  at- 
mosphere in  which  ''we  come  to  loathe  to 
differ  and  to  determine  to  understand."  All 
this  lends  significance  to  the  proposal  to  hold 
within  a  few  years  a  World  Conference  on 
Faith  and  Order.  Possibly  even  more  im- 
portant than  this  proposed  conference  is  the 
thorough  educational  campaign  in  prepara- 
tion for  it.  It  will  be  well  to  keep  in  touch 
with  the  literature  issued  in  connection  with 
this  movement,  also  with  such  periodical  lit- 
erature as  the  Constructive  Quarterly  and  the 


164    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

International  Review  of  Missions,  which  en- 
able us  to  obtain  a  better  understanding  of 
Christian  bodies  and  agencies  with  which  we 
may  not  seem  to  have  much  if  anything  in 
common. 

The  process  of  comprehension  should  also 
be  much  emphasized.  What  is  desired,  to 
use  an  expression  of  the  Archbishop  of  York 
as  amplified  by  the  Bishop  of  Bombay,  is 
^^not  compromise  for  the  sake  of  peace  and 
success,  but  comprehension  for  the  sake  of 
truth  and  hfe."  What  is  needed  is  not  the 
oneness  and  dullness  and  unproductivity  of 
uniformity,  but  unity  with  diversity  and  free- 
dom; not  undenominationalism  but  interde- 
nominationalism.  There  is  all  the  difference 
in  the  world  between  the  two.  If  the  mis- 
sionary movement  is  to  have  really  conquer- 
ing power  it  needs  something  much  more 
vertebrate,  something  with  much  more  rich- 
ness, life  and  power  than  undenominational- 
ism. In  the  unity  to  be  promoted,  therefore, 
we  would  emphasize  not  a  minimum  of  belief 
but  a  maximum,  preserving  all  that  is  true  or 
vital  and  vitalizing.     Thus  we  seek  not  to 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  165 

surrender  or  abolish  or  to  minimize  our  difTer- 
ences  but  to  compose  them.  Differences  of 
conviction,  diversities  of  administration,  and 
differences  incident  to  historic  development 
and  racial  conditions  will  all  assume  right 
proportions  under  the  divine  principle  of  the 
unity  of  the  Kingdom.  Such  Christian  unity 
is  the  supremacy  of  the  whole  over  the  parts. 
If  we  value  rightly  what  we  call  our  order, 
doctrines  and  ritual,  it  is  not  so  much  because 
these  are  our  own  that  we  should  value  them 
as  because  we  honestly  believe  that  they  are 
true  and  helpful  and  therefore  desire  to  have 
others  know,  appreciate,  and  receive  help 
from  them.  Some  Christians  give  the  im- 
pression that  they  have  a  very  small  Christ. 
To  hear  them  speak  one  would  form  the  idea 
that  they  believe  that  Christ  has  revealed 
Himself  wholly  to  their  particular  denomi- 
nation or  communion  or  nationality.  But 
Christ  is  so  infinite  that  He  requires  all  the 
Christian  bodies  which  acknowledge  Him  as 
Lord,  and  all  nationalities  and  races  of  the 
world,  through  which  to  reveal  Himself  and 
to  accomplish  His  purposes. 


166    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

The  process  of  transcendence  is  also  neces- 
sary to  the  realization  of  the  larger  unity. 
We  need  to  rise  into  the  mountains  and  to 
spend  more  time  there.  Amid  the  great 
peaks  of  Christian  experience  things  assume 
true  perspective.  In  the  mount  of  transfigu- 
ration seeing  no  man  save  Jesus  only  we  shall 
be  better  able  to  discover  our  true  relation- 
ship to  one  another.  On  the  mount  of  vision 
also,  from  which  we  see  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  we 
shall  see  how  necessary  we  are  to  each  other. 
The  true  path  does  not  He  in  treating  our 
differences  as  unimportant,  but  in  finding 
the  higher  point  of  view  which  transcends 
them  and  in  which  they  are  truly  reconciled. 
Christians  more  and  more  will  find  in  their 
common  faith  in  God,  in  their  common  love 
for  Christ,  and  in  their  common  purpose 
toward  mankind,  a  power  of  union  which 
will  be  irresistible  and  triumphant. 

By  traveling  the  pathway  of  intercession 
we  find  ourselves  drawing  more  closely  to- 
gether. Christ  was  familiar  with  the  prob- 
lem of  division  and  disunion.     His  solution 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  167 

was  strikingly  original  and  unique.  He  sum- 
moned men  to  prayer.  That  there  might  be 
no  ambiguity  about  His  wish  He  set  the 
example  by  embodying  in  the  heart  of  His 
high  priestly  prayer  the  petition  that  all  His 
followers  might  be  one.  This  clearly  shows 
that  He  regards  the  drawing  together  of  His 
followers  as  a  superhuman  work,  which  can 
be  accomphshed  only  through  divine  assist- 
ance in  answer  to  prayer.  This  suggests  the 
capital  distinction  between  His  method  of 
meeting  the  problem  and  ours.  We  have 
failed  to  follow  His  example  and  therefore  the 
bringing  together  into  vital  oneness  of  those 
who  bear  His  name  has  been  long  delayed. 

Doubtless  many  are  not  praying  for  other 
Christians  and  for  Christian  unity  because 
they  have  been  ignorant  of  His  clearly  re- 
vealed will  on  the  subject.  Others  have  not 
done  so  because  of  practical  unbelief.  Not 
to  pray  shows  they  think  that  in  some  way 
by  the  use  of  their  own  schemes,  numbers  and 
power,  unity  can  be  achieved;  whereas  were 
they  to  give  themselves  to  prayer  it  would 
show  that  they  humbly  and  truly  recognize 

18 


168    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

that  God  only  can  accomplish  this  wonder- 
work. Many  others  do  not  pray  because 
they  have  allowed  themselves  to  become  so 
occupied  with  other  things  that  this,  the  most 
important  of  all  means,  is  left  unutilized. 
Christians  everywhere  should  seek  to  develop 
this  comparatively  latent  talent  of  interces- 
sion. When  Christians  of  different  names, 
especially  those  who  are  not  in  sympathy 
with  one  another,  begin  to  pray  for  each 
other,  they  will  find  that  they  cannot  long 
continue  in  such  intercession  without  begin- 
ning to  work  in  the  direction  of  the  answer 
to  their  own  prayers. 

By  promoting  genuine  fellowship  among 
leaders  and  members  of  various  Missions  and 
Churches  the  progress  of  the  cause  of  co- 
operation and  unity  is  greatly  advanced. 
Real  unity  is  based  upon  intimate  knowledge, 
confidence  and  affection,  and  all  this  is  the 
result  of  seeing  much  of  each  other  in  close 
fellowship.  Unity  of  heart  must  precede  any 
more  formal  unity.  Christ  left  His  disciples 
a  unit  because  of  the  intimate  fellowship 
which  He  fostered  among;  them.     The  a,pos- 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  169 

ties  and  other  early  Christians  wonderfully 
perpetuated  this  spirit.  This  was  one  of  the 
secrets  of  the  rapid  spread  of  Christianity 
during  the  early  generations.  Even  in  the 
political  relations  between  nations  a  formal 
treaty  is  not  so  satisfactory  and  vital  as  the 
entente  cordiale,  or  union  of  hearts.  There- 
fore, let  us  welcome  increasing  travel  by  dep- 
utations which  are  visiting  various  mission 
fields,  the  interchange  of  visits  between  ad- 
ministrators of  Mission  Boards  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic,  the  multiplication  of  inter- 
denominational and  international  conferences 
of  leaders  of  the  Christian  forces. 

Sometimes  one  wonders  whether  so  many 
conferences  and  congresses  are  worth  while; 
but  where  they  are  well  planned  and  ably  led 
and  where  there  is  some  serious  and  high  end 
to  serve,  experience  shows  that  they  are 
abundantly  worth  while.  It  is  not  so  much 
because  of  their  value  for  legislative,  educa- 
tional and  inspirational  purposes  as  because 
they  serve  to  create  an  atmosphere,  an  atti- 
tude, a  spirit,  a  disposition  which  make  pos- 
sible the  larger  discovery  of  the  will  of  God 


170    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

and  the  greater  obedience  to  that  will.  In 
an  interview  with  the  Archbishop  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  in  South  India,  I 
asked  him  what  he  considered  to  be  the  secret 
of  bringing  about  Christian  unity.  He  re- 
plied, "First,  we  must  pray  for  it;  secondly, 
the  exercise  of  gentleness  and  courtesy;  third- 
ly, we  must  see  more  of  each  other." 

Christians  of  different  communions  by 
keeping  before  them  the  colossal  task  in- 
volved in  making  Christ  known  and  obeyed 
throughout  the  world  will  find  themselves 
being  irresistibly  drawn  together.  Just  as 
a  war  fuses  together  a  great  and  complex 
nation,  even  its  differing  and  conflicting 
political  parties,  so  a  true  and  definite  con- 
ception of  the  magnitude  and  difficulty  of 
the  task  involved  in  the  world's  conquest 
will  tend  to  bind  together  all  those  who  have 
at  heart  this  undertaking.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  exaggerate  the  federative  power  of  a 
great  and  difficult  objective.  This  has  been 
shown  in  a  most  striking  way  by  the  influence 
of  the  watchword  of  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement,  namely,  The  Evangelization  of 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  171 

the  World  in  This  Generation.  This  lofty 
and  sublime  ideal,  this  which  one  has  happily 
called  a  possible  impossible,  has  done  more 
than  any  other  one  idea  to  unify  the  aggres- 
sive Christian  forces  among  the  students  of 
all  the  Churches  in  the  different  nations. 
This  goes  far  also  to  explain  the  mighty  power 
for  unity  exerted  by  the  Edinburgh  Confer- 
ence which  was  really  the  first  occasion  when 
the  leaders  of  all  the  missionary  forces  have 
come  together  to  face  the  wholeness  of  the 
task  and  the  oneness  of  the  task  in  its  infinite 
complexity. 

Possibly  in  no  other  way  more  than  by 
undertaking  to  do  definite  pieces  of  work 
together  do  the  Christians  of  different  bodies 
come  to  recognize  the  true  unity  which 
already  exists  between  them.  To  do  one 
thing  unitedly  suggests  and  makes  more 
easily  possible  the  doing  of  other  things  to- 
gether. The  number  of  things  which  Chris- 
tians have  been  doing  together  has  increased 
from  decade  to  decade  in  a  geometrical  ratio. 
From  present  indications  the  decade  which 
was  ushered  in  by  the  Edinburgh  Conference 


172    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

will  transcend  by  far  all  preceding  periods  in 
the  number  and  importance  of  union  enter- 
prises undertaken  by  different  Missions  and 
Churches.  Leaders  do  well,  therefore,  to  con- 
tinue to  look  for  tasks  which  can  best  and  can 
only  be  done  together.  In  all  such  activity 
the  end  in  view  will  not  be  unity  so  much  as 
the  larger  good  to  mankind  which  such  unity 
makes  possible.  This  process  of  doing  things 
together  serves  to  break  down  divisions,  to 
promote  mutual  knowledge  and  respect,  to 
afford  convincing  evidence  of  the  benefits  of 
union,  to  remove  unbelief  as  to  its  practi- 
cability, and  to  make  the  cause  of  unity  truly 
contagious. 

The  great  need  of  the  hour  is  that  for  apos- 
tles of  reconciliation.  Christians  must  not 
be  contented  to  stop  with  a  reahzing  sense  of 
the  advantages  of  unity,  with  a  feehng  of  re- 
sponsiveness to  this  noble  ideal,  and  with  an 
inspiring  vision  of  what  it  would  mean  to 
have  it  spread  widely  throughout  the  world, 
but  they  must  do  all  in  their  power  to  pro- 
mote unity.  Each  one  can  do  much.  What 
should  characterize  these  apostles  of  unity 


CO-OPERATION  AND  UNITY  173 

and  reconciliation?  They  should  be  men  of 
catholic  mind  and  of  conciliatory  spirit.  They 
should  be  men  of  large  and  growing  knowl- 
edge of  church  history  and  of  reverential  re- 
gard for  God's  dealings  with  all  members  of 
His  family  throughout  the  past.  They  should 
at  the  same  time  be  men  of  vision  who  have 
their  gaze  fixed  intently  on  a  better  day. 
They  should  be  men  of  constructive  ability, 
able  to  build  their  part  into  the  great  struc- 
ture. They  should  be  men  of  courage  and 
of  undiscourageable  enthusiasm,  and,  above 
all,  they  should  have  a  passionate  desire  to 
realize  the  wish  of  our  Lord.  Political  states- 
men tell  us  that  the  most  difficult  task  of 
statesmanship  is  that  of  effecting  treaties  be- 
tween rival  or  conflicting  nations,  especially 
between  those  which  have  been  at  war  with 
each  other.  Christ  has  said,  ''Blessed  are 
the  peacemakers."  In  quoting  this  beati- 
tude it  is  usual  to  emphasize  the  word  peace, 
but  has  not  the  time  come  when  the  greater 
emphasis  should  be  placed  upon  the  word 
makers?  We  shall  not  drift  into  peace  or 
unity.     Christian    leaders    must    lay    aside 


174    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

their  indifference,  inertia  and  neglect  with 
reference  to  this  matter;  they  must  arise, 
accept  a  burden  of  responsibility,  and  take 
the  initiative  in  earnest  constructive  efforts 
to  bring  about  a  better  relation  between  all 
who  bear  the  Christian  name. 


PRESENT  POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO- 
OPERATION   IN  THE  MISSION 
FIELD 


VII 

PRESENT  POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO- 
OPERATION IN  THE  MISSION 
FIELD 

One  of  the  principal  impressions  left  on 
my  mind  by  my  recent  journey  through  those 
Asiatic  mission  fields  having  in  them  three- 
fourths  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  non-Chris- 
tian world,  especially  by  the  series  of  twenty- 
one  conferences  of  leaders  over  which  in  the 
name  of  the  Continuation  Committee  I  pre- 
sided, was  that  of  the  urgent  necessity  of 
closer  co-operation  on  the  part  of  all  the 
Christian  forces  if  they  are  to  meet  success- 
fully the  present  unprecedented  situation 
throughout  the  Asiatic  continent.  At  this 
time  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  deal  with  the 
principles  and  hmitations  of  co-operation  but 
to  fix  attention  on  several  aspects  of  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  which  particularly  demand 
co-operative  consideration  and  action. 

It  is  desirable  that  the  different  missionary 

177 


178    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

forces  or  agencies  co-operate  in  the  work  of 
securing  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  field. 
We  did  not  go  far  in  any  one  of  the  Con- 
tinuation Committee  Conferences  without 
discovering  that  we  did  not  know  enough. 
It  became  evident  in  the  discussion  of  each 
subject  that  no  one  knew  the  facts  with 
sufficient  fulness  and  accuracy.  It  is  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  each  of  the  twenty- 
one  conferences  voted  unanimously  in  favor 
of  a  thoroughly  scientific,  united  survey  of 
the  field  and  work  in  the  area  represented. 
There  was  also  agreement  that  such  surveys 
should  be  made  periodically,  the  general 
period  mentioned  being  once  every  ten  years, 
although  some  urged  that  the  interval  be- 
tween surveys  should  not  exceed  five  years. 
A  truly  comprehensive  survey  is  essential 
before  any  adequate  plan  for  occupation,  or, 
in  fact,  before  any  statesmanlike  action  in 
other  directions,  can  be  determined.  It  will 
be  recognized  that  such  a  gathering,  arrange- 
ment and  interpretation  of  the  facts  as  is 
here  called  for,  if  it  is  to  be  complete  and 
satisfactory,  can  best,  if  not  only,  be  accom- 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     179 

plished  by  co-operative  effort.  For  this  sur- 
vey the  assistance  of  the  Continuation  Com- 
mittee, which  is  composed  of  representatives 
of  the  missionary  forces  of  Europe  and  North 
America,  will  be  indispensable  to  help  dis- 
cover and  train  suitable  men  to  conduct 
the  surveys;  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Committee  on  Survey  in  a  given  field  the 
lessons  of  experience  of  similar  committees  in 
other  fields;  to  standardize  the  surveys  in 
different  fields  to  such  an  extent  as  may  be 
desirable;  and  to  bring  the  results  of  the 
surveys  to  the  attention  of  those  who  should 
be  most  interested.  In  some  countries  it  will 
be  best  to  begin  by  conducting  a  model  sur- 
vey of  one  province,  or  district,  or  city;  in 
others  it  may  be  wiser  to  plan  at  once  for  a 
complete  survey  of  the  whole  country. 

Co-operative  consideration  on  the  part  of 
the  various  Christian  bodies  at  work  in  a 
particular  country  is  essential  in  order  to 
determine  more  clearly  than  has  ever  been 
done  what  is  meant  by  the  adequate  occu- 
pation of  a  field.  There  are  few  subjects  on 
which  there  is  more  confusion  of  thought  than 


180    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

on  this  one.  Even  missionaries  of  the  same 
Society,  Hving  at  a  common  mission  station, 
were  found  to  hold  diametrically  opposite 
views  on  the  subject.  It  is  not  so  surprising 
to  find  leaders  of  different  Missions  and  com- 
munions holding  widely  differing  views  on 
certain  aspects  of  the  problem  of  occupation. 
Now,  if  we  do  not  know  where  we  want  to  go 
we  are  not  likely  to  arrive  at  our  destina- 
tion. It  is  doubtless  too  much  to  expect  that 
all  the  Societies,  or  even  all  the  missionaries 
of  the  same  Society,  will  come  to  agree  exactly 
on  what  is  meant  by  the  adequate  occupation 
of  a  field;  but  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that 
as  a  result  of  co-operative  consideration,  that 
is,  of  concerted  investigation  and  discussion, 
the  number  of  theories  or  plans  of  occupa- 
tion can  be  reduced  to  two,  three  or  pos- 
sibly four.  This  will  be  a  great  gain  over  the 
present  confusion.  Even  though  we  find  that 
the  views  and  policies  of  occupation  which 
certain  groups  of  workers  hold  are  radically 
different,  it  will  be  advantageous  to  know  it. 
The  possibilities  of  misunderstanding  and 
friction  will  be  reduced,  and  the  fields  con- 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     181 

cerned  are  much  more  likely  to  be  occupied. 
To  facilitate  clearer  thinking  and  a  much 
more  nearly  common  understanding  on  the 
subject,  conferences  should  be  held  both  by 
missionaries  on  the  field  and  by  representa- 
tives of  Boards  at  home.  There  also  should  be 
careful  writing  on  the  principles  which  should 
guide  as  to  occupation  and  distribution, 
and  the  proper  application  of  these  principles. 
The  completely  unoccupied  fields  and  the 
virtually  unoccupied  fields  of  the  non-Chris- 
tian world  challenge  and  require  the  united 
consideration  of  all  the  Churches.  It  seems 
highly  incongruous  and  startling  that  so 
many  centuries  after  Christ  rose  from  the 
dead  and  initiated  the  world-wide  missionary 
movement,  it  should  be  possible  for  a  body 
of  Christian  leaders  to  assemble,  as  was  the 
case  at  the  late  World  ^lissionary  Conference 
in  Edinburgh,  and  be  confronted  with  facts 
showing  so  many  areas  totally  destitute  of 
the  Gospel.  This  situation  is  all  the  more 
strange  at  a  time  when  there  are  so  many 
genuine  Christians  in  the  world  that  they 
might  easily  and  fully  give  to  all  men  now 


182    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

living  the  opportunity  to  learn  of  the  living 
Christ.  Different  reasons  might  be  given  to 
explain  why  there  are  still  so  many  com- 
pletely unoccupied  fields,  but  is  not  the  chief 
reason  the  fact  that  no  one  has  been  made 
responsible  for  pressing  the  facts  and  claims 
of  the  world's  unoccupation  upon  the  brain, 
conscience  and  will  of  Christendom?  What 
is  everybody's  business  is  nobody's  business. 
Therefore,  let  it  be  stated  reverently,  God 
has  had  no  adequate  opportunity  to  impress 
the  facts  upon  the  Church. 

The  united  surveys  which  have  been  pro- 
posed must  not  be  regarded  as  ends  in  them- 
selves. The  Continuation  Committee  Con- 
ferences in  Asia  were  impatient  on  this  point. 
They  desired  that  their  information  be 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  home 
Churches  and  Societies  with  reference  to 
securing  action.  The  impression  was  received 
in  the  conferences  that  only  a  small  minority 
of  the  Missionary  Societies  have  definite  and 
recognized  plans  for  occupying  their  respect- 
ive fields.  Moreover,  it  was  most  disap- 
pointing to  find  how  few  had  concerned  them- 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     183 

selves  with  the  matter  of  evolving  a  united 
plan  for  occupying  the  whole  country.  The 
time  has  come  when  the  Missionary  Societies 
should  collectively  make  it  clear  and  em- 
phatic that  it  is  their  fixed  and  unalterable 
purpose  to  stand  for  the  planting  of  pure 
Christianity  in  every  part  of  the  non-Chris- 
tian world.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  will  of 
Cod  that  the  whole  field  be  occupied,  and, 
however  great  and  difficult  the  task,  there 
are  resources  available  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
His  Church  sufficient  to  make  possible  the 
accomplishment  of  His  perfect  will. 

Experience  on  many  mission  fields  em- 
phasizes the  value  of  co-operation  in  the 
work  of  evangelization.  The  Continuation 
Committee  Conferences  brought  out  clearly 
the  fact  that  the  most  powerful  and  fruitful 
evangelistic  efforts  have  been  those  in  which 
the  various  Missions  and  Christian  agencies 
united  for  this  purpose.  In  different  lands 
the  delegates  agreed  on  plans  calling  for 
concentration  evangelistic  campaigns  in  great 
centers  of  population,  and,  in  some  cases, 
over  wider  areas.     In  Japan  there  was  un- 

13 


184    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

animous  action,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
Japanese  Christian  leaders,  in  favor  of  a 
three-years'  nation-wide  campaign.  It  is 
expected  that  all  Churches  and  agencies  will 
participate,  each  being  free  to  co-operate  in 
the  ways  which  it  deems  most  effective.  The 
leaders  in  Japan  desire  the  special  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Missionary  Societies  at  home  in 
helping  to  select  and  send  out  able  apologetic 
lecturers,  wise  evangelists  and  recognized  au- 
thorities on  methods  of  evangelization. 

It  is  of  first  importance  that  Christian 
leaders  in  Europe  and  America  recognize 
that  the  present  is  one  of  the  days  of  God's 
visitation  in  Asia,  and  that  it  is  preeminently 
the  time  to  bring  to  bear  our  united  power  in 
intercession  and  in  every  other  way  which  the 
trusted  workers  at  the  front  may  indicate. 
The  statements  of  the  Bishop  of  Madras  and 
those  in  the  findings  of  the  Indian  Conferences 
regarding  the  marvelous  opportunity  pre- 
sented just  now  by  the  mass  movements  in 
India  to  influence  for  Christ  literally  tens  of 
millions  who  will  otherwise  be  absorbed  by 
Hinduism    and    Mohammedanism    are    not 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     185 

exaggerations.  If  this  be  true,  the  situation 
calls  for  a  far  closer  co-ordination  and  co- 
operation of  the  Christian  forces  that  we  may 
not  miss  the  day  of  our  visitation. 

Contrary  to  the  popular  impression  the 
present  opportunity  in  Japan  is  absolutely 
unequaled.  At  the  conference  held  there 
in  April,  1913,  two  questions  were  put  to  the 
Japanese  Christian  leaders  and  to  the  mis- 
sionaries: ''Are  the  educated  classes  as  ac- 
cessible now  as  they  were  in  the  eighties?" 
In  answering,  all  agreed  that  the  educated 
classes  are  fully  as  accessible  now  as  they 
were  then.  The  second  question  was,  ''Are 
the  masses  as  accessible  and  responsive  now 
as  they  were  then?  "  All  the  Japanese  work- 
ers and  all  but  two  of  the  missionaries  agreed 
that  they  are  more  accessible  and  responsive 
now  than  at  that  time.  This  fact  is  not 
generally  known  in  the  West.  As  the  pendu- 
lum swings  more  rapidly  in  Japan  than  in 
most  countries,  this  is  a  fact  of  large  and 
urgent  significance.  Only  prompt  and  con- 
certed effort  on  the  part  of  all  Societies  re- 
lated to  this  field  will  avail. 


\ 


186    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Far  more  vast  and  quite  as  urgent  is  the 
evangelistic  opportunity  presented  to-day  in 
China.  During  my  three  previous  visits  to 
China  within  the  last  twenty  years  I  found 
nothing  approaching  in  ripeness  for  evangel- 
istic effort  the  fields  visited  in  that  land  last 
year.  In  South  China,  in  North  China,  in 
East  China  and  in  the  heart  of  China,  the 
field  among  government  students  as  well  as 
among  other  classes  was  dead  ripe  unto  har- 
vest. The  Confucian  reaction  which  has  set 
in  has  not  seriously  contracted  the  oppor- 
tunity; in  fact,  it  is  serving  the  great  advan- 
tage of  compelling  men  to  count  the  cost 
more  thoroughly.  It  is  an  idle  dream  to 
think  of  meeting  such  a  colossal  situation  as 
that  presented  by  the  evangelistic  oppor- 
tunity in  virtually  every  province  of  China 
and  in  the  Chinese  colonies  by  anything  less 
than  union  in  plan  and  effort  on  the  part  of 
Christ's  messengers. 

In  every  field  there  is  a  clamant  demand 
for  a  much  larger  number  of  able  native 
Christian  workers  and  leaders.  In  fact,  noth- 
ing short  of  an  army  of  well-qualified  sons 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     187 

and  daughters  of  the  soil  will  suffice  to  meet 
the  demands  of  the  Church.  What  is  the 
secret  of  obtaining  them?  While  the  mission 
schools  and  colleges  constitute  the  principal 
recruiting  ground,  the  agency  which  has 
proved  itself  most  effective  in  influencing 
young  men  and  young  women  to  devote  their 
lives  to  Christian  service  is  the  Student  Chris- 
tian Movement.  This  has  been  shown  con- 
clusively by  the  Student  Volunteer  Move- 
ment in  North  America,  the  British  Isles, 
Australasia  and  South  Africa,  and  in  certain 
parts  of  the  Continent.  Recently  the  same 
plan  has  been  tried  in  China,  where  during 
the  last  five  years  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement  has  led  more  Chinese  students  to 
decide  to  enter  the  ministry  than  have  been 
secured  in  as  many  decades  before  in  that 
country,  and  also  more  than  have  been 
secured  in  the  other  non-Christian  countries 
during  the  same  half  decade.  This  is  a  co- 
operative or  interdenominational  movement. 
There  is  something  which  can  be  secured 
through  esprit  de  corps,  through  consciousness 
of  unity  and  of  strength  of  numbers,  tlii'ough 


188    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

common  purpose  and  fellowship,  and  through 
the  spirit  of  propaganda,  and  which  cannot  be 
obtained  in  any  other  way.  The  Missionary 
Societies  of  the  West,  therefore,  should  seek 
to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  rising  Student 
Christian  Movements  among  both  men  and 
women  students,  in  government  as  well  as  in 
mission  schools,  by  allocating  to  this  service 
some  of  their  ablest  and  best  adapted  mis- 
sionaries and  native  workers. 

There  is  a  demand  for  better  trained  work- 
ers as  well  as  for  larger  numbers.  While  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  prospective  native  leaders 
had  probably  best  be  educated  in  the  theo- 
logical and  other  training  institutions  of  their 
respective  Christian  communions,  there  is  a 
growing  belief  among  missionaries  that  a 
selected  company  of  the  best  of  these  stu- 
dents should  receive  advanced  or  post-grad- 
uate training  in  union  theological  colleges. 
To  this  end  the  missionaries  and  native  lead- 
ers have  voted  for  the  establishment  of  a  few 
really  high-grade  union  theological  institu- 
tions, similar  to  the  one  recently  opened  in 
Bangalore,  India.     It  is  believed  that  in  ad- 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     189 

vantages  and  facilities  for  training  these 
should  rank  with,  and  if  possible  surpass,  the 
theological  seminaries  and  colleges  of  Chris- 
tian lands,  thus  obviating  the  necessity,  ex- 
cept in  very  rare  cases,  of  sending  young  men 
to  Europe  or  America  to  complete  their  theo- 
logical studies.  Without  some  such  provi- 
sion as  this  in  fields  like  India,  Japan  and 
China  there  is  serious  danger  that  the  Church 
will  not  have  leaders  sufficiently  well  pre- 
pared to  command  the  intellectual  confidence 
and  following  of  the  educated  classes.  In 
these  institutions  men  would  be  trained  to 
take  charge  of  the  more  important  city 
parishes,  to  serve  as  teachers  in  theological 
schools,  and  to  minister  to  the  student  class 
in  different  communities.  As  a  rule,  no  one 
mission  has  a  sufficient  number  of  young  men 
requiring  such  advanced  training  to  warrant 
maintaining  such  a  large  and  able  staff  of 
professors  as  would  be  needed  in  a  theological 
institution  of  this  rank  and  character.  Such 
an  enterprise  should  be  a  union  effort.  When 
deemed  necessary,  provision  could  be  made 
by  certain  Christian  bodies  or  groups  of  cog- 


190    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

nate  denominations  to  provide  for  their  own 
students  separate  facilities  for  worship  and 
also  for  teaching  their  distinctive  doctrines 
and  pohty. 

Happily  there  is  almost  universal  agree- 
ment among  missionary  administrators  at 
home,  as  well  as  among  their  representatives 
abroad,  in  favor  of  close  co-operation  in  the 
establishment  and  maintenance  of  union  lan- 
guage schools  for  missionaries  on  the  field. 
Among  the  most  successful  already  in  opera- 
tion are  those  at  Lucknow,  Nanking  and 
Cairo.  Not  less  than  fourteen  of  these  union 
schools  are  called  for  in  the  findings  of  the 
conferences  recently  held  in  Asia  by  the 
Continuation  Committee.  A  special  com- 
mittee of  the  Continuation  Committee  is  deal- 
ing in  a  comprehensive  manner  with  the  whole 
subject  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  mission- 
aries and  the  Mission  Boards,  is  seeking 
to  determine  the  number,  location  and  scope 
of  schools  required  in  the  different  fields  and 
to  work  out  the  best  plan  for  their  financial 
support.  It  is  evident  that  to  ensure  their 
highest  efficiency  each  school  will  require  an 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     191 

able  director,  a  highly  quahfied  teaching  staff 
and  suitable  accommodation  for  residences 
and  for  classes.  In  this  connection  the  grow- 
ing importance  of  the  recently  constituted 
Boards  of  Missionary  Preparation  of  Great 
Britain  and  of  North  America  should  be  em- 
phasized. These  boards  are  purely  co-opera- 
tive enterprises,  and  as  they  gradually  suc- 
ceed in  bringing  together  the  varied  and  rich 
experiences  of  all  the  Missionary  Societies  on 
this  vital  problem  of  the  training  of  mission- 
ary candidates,  the  inevitable  result  will  be  a 
raising  of  the  standard  of  requirements,  and  a 
marked  increase  in  the  efficiency  of  new  mis- 
sionaries. In  view  of  the  increasingly  exacting 
demands  of  the  modern  missionary  career  this 
united  emphasis  is  both  timely  and  prophetic. 
The  problems  and  responsibilities  of  the 
Church  in  each  non-Christian  land  suggest 
the  need  of  some  co-operative  arrangement 
by  which  the  influence  of  the  Church  in  other 
lands  may  be  brought  to  bear  most  helpfully. 
The  Continuation  Committee  through  its 
Special  Committee  on  the  Church  in  the  Mis- 
sion Field  may  possibly  best  meet  this  rec- 


192    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

ognized  need.  It  should  place  at  the  disposal 
of  the  missionaries  and  the  native  Christian 
leaders  in  each  mission  field  the  best  experi- 
ence of  other  fields.  It  should  conduct  investi- 
gations on  certain  subjects,  among  them  the 
following:  ''How  can  truly  indigenous 
Churches  be  developed?"  ''What  are  the 
tendencies  leading  to  closer  co-operation  or 
to  separation  between  the  Churches  and  Mis- 
sionary Societies  of  the  West  and  the  rising 
Churches  on  the  mission  field?"  "The  eco- 
nomic position  and  problems  of  Christianity 
in  the  various  non-Christian  lands."  Such 
studies  could  be  promoted  through  the 
activity  of  special  commissions  and  also 
through  carefully  planned  series  of  papers  or 
magazine  articles.  Moreover,  it  will  be  well 
here  and  there,  in  such  fields  as  China,  to 
hold  conferences  to  discuss  these  and  other 
questions  relating  to  the  development  of  self- 
governing,  self-supporting  and  self-propagat- 
ing Churches.  Conferences  on  Faith  and 
Order,  such  as  have  been  suggested  in  the 
findings  of  some  of  the  gatherings,  will  also 
be  timely  in  certain  fields. 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     193 

Everything  practicable  should  be  done  to 
strengthen  the  bonds  of  union  between  the 
new  Churches  in  non-Christian  lands  and 
the  Church  Historic,  the  Church  Universal. 
This  point  is  one  of  cardinal  importance 
just  now,  when  independent  Churches  are 
springing  up  on  every  hand,  and  when,  owing 
to  the  growing  national  spirit,  there  is  danger 
of  the  development  of  Churches  in  the  East 
which  will  be  separate  in  aims  and  sympathies 
as  well  as  in  activities  from  the  Church  in  the 
yest.  In  this  connection  the  importance  of 
the  study  of  church  history  should  be  em- 
phasized, among  both  the  missionaries  and 
the  native  leaders,  as  well  as  among  the  stu- 
dents in  theological  colleges  and  Bible  schools. 
This  point  should  be  brought  to  the  attention 
of  those  who  do  most  to  shape  the  curricula 
of  the  training  institutions  on  the  field.  More 
of  the  best  works  on  church  history  should  be  I 
translated  into  the  various  vernaculars  of 
Asia.  Original  works  in  this  field  of  scholar- 
ship should  be  prepared,  having  in  mind  the 
special  requirements  of  the  developing 
Churches  in  different  countries.     The  fact 


194    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

that  many  of  the  native  Christian  leaders 
have  such  a  poor  historical  sense  makes  it 
all  the  more  important  and  necessary  that 
in  this  and  other  ways  we  seek  to  keep  the 
growing  native  Churches  in  closer  touch  with 
the  great  consensus  of  the  continuous  Church 
of  all  the  ages.  There  could  be  no  greater 
danger  than  for  native  Christianity  to  become 
separate  from  historical,  credal,  ecumenical, 
living  Christianity. 

It  may  be  well  for  the  Continuation  Com- 
mittee to  associate  with  its  Committee  on  the 
Church  in  the  Mission  Field  an  increasing 
number  of  able  church  historians  and  of  those 
who  have  dealt  most  largely  with  the  prob- 
lems involved  in  planting  and  developing  the 
Christian  Church.  This  Committee  should 
also  concern  itself  much  with  the  problem 
of  how  best  to  ensure  the  spiritual  vitality  of 
the  native  Churches,  and  how  to  influence 
them  to  realize  their  missionary  responsi- 
bility. The  collection  and  dissemination  of 
the  most  inspiring  facts  regarding  the  evan- 
gelistic outreach  and  spiritual  achievements 
of  the  Church  in  different  parts  of  the  non- 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     195 

Christian  world  would  prove  to  be  most 
stimulating.  A  great  service  may  also  be 
rendered  from  time  to  time  by  sending  great 
and  inspiring  Christian  leaders  as  visitors 
to  lands  where  the  Church  is  in  special  need 
or  is  subject  to  peculiar  strain.  Such  a  step 
taken  just  now  with  reference  to  certain  parts 
of  the  Orient  where  an  ultraliberal  spirit  has 
recently  asserted  itself  with  great  power, 
would  be  most  timely  and  wise. 

The  findings  in  every  conference  held  in 
Asia  reveal  the  need  of  a  far  better  co-ordina- 
tion and  a  closer  co-operation  in  the  educa- 
tional work.  Back  of  this  hes  the  need  of  a 
well  considered  and  well  understood  policy 
for  Christian  education.  In  not  one  of  the 
twenty-one  conferences  was  a  satisfactory 
answer  given  to  the  following  question: 
''Have  you  in  this  area  a  well  thought-out 
and  generally  accepted  policy  of  Christian 
education?  "  We  should  not  be  satisfied  until 
such  a  policy  is  formulated  and  adopted.  The 
help  of  the  Continuation  Committee  has 
been  requested  in  order  to  increase  the  effi- 
ciency of  educational  missionary  work  in  all 


196    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

its  phases  and  grades.  To  this  end  it  should, 
in  co-operation  with  the  Boards  of  Missionary- 
Preparation,  take  steps  to  ensure  the  better 
training  of  missionaries  who  are  to  engage  in 
educational  work.  In  every  field  there  is  a 
noticeable  lack  of  men  trained  for  this  partic- 
ular work,  that  is,  men  who  are  strictly  educa- 
tionalists and  yet  thoroughly  missionary. 

It  would  be  a  good  plan  if  the  Committee 
on  Christian  Education  related  to  the  Con- 
tinuation Committee  would  undertake  to 
issue  occasional,  if  not  regular,  bulletins, 
especially  with  educational  missionaries  in 
mind.  Such  a  paper  would  do  much  to  keep 
them  abreast  of  the  thought  on  educational 
problems  throughout  the  world,  and  would 
help  to  raise  the  standard  of  efficiency.  This 
committee  should  serve  in  every  way  in  its 
power  the  missionary  educational  associa- 
tions on  the  different  fields.  This  can  be 
done  by  enabling  them  to  employ  expert 
educational  directors  or  superintendents  who 
would  serve  the  interests  of  all  Missions  with- 
in certain  areas.  In  any  effort  to  increase  the 
efficiency  of  the  educational  work,  chief  em- 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     197 

phasis  should  be  given  to  making  it  more  pro- 
ductive in  a  truly  missionary  sense.  To  ac- 
complish this  great  result  a  large  increase  in 
the  staff  of  educational  missionaries  is  de- 
manded. 

On  every  field  there  is  imperative  need  of 
bringing  about  larger  and  more  practical  co- 
operation between  the  different  Missions  as 
to  specific  educational  institutions  already 
established  or  called  for.  In  several  fields 
the  members  of  the  Continuation  Commit- 
tee Conferences  came  to  unanimous  agree- 
ment as  to  the  number,  and  in  some  cases 
as  to  the  location,  of  the  Christian  colleges 
and  universities  required  to  serve  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Christian  Church.  The  policy 
embraced  not  only  colleges  for  men  but 
also  those  for  women.  It  included  medical 
colleges,  normal  schools,  theological  institu- 
tions and,  in  certain  cases,  secondary  schools. 
The  leaders  on  all  these  fields  very  much  de- 
sire that  on  the  home  field  representatives  of 
the  Missionary  Societies  which  are  chiefly 
concerned  in  the  different  areas  be  brought 
together  in  conference,  that  they  may  face 


198    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

the  facts  and  decide  what  should  be  done  to 
effect  the  co-operation  so  much  desired.  It 
is  evident  that  the  missionaries  are  prepared 
to  go  much  further  than  most  of  the  Boards. 
The  co-operation  of  a  committee,  consti- 
tuted as  is  this  Committee  on  Christian 
Education  in  connection  with  the  Continua- 
tion Committee,  is  greatly  needed  to  help 
to  decide  on  the  best  plans  of  administration 
of  union  schools  and  colleges,  and  also  on  the 
best  methods  of  financing  them.  Owing  to 
the  growth  of  government  educational  sys- 
tems in  all  parts  of  Asia,  great  not  only 
in  size,  but  also  in  efficiency  and  influence, 
Christian  missions  must  greatly  expand  their 
educational  work  and  raise  its  standards. 
This  may  involve  great  expenditure,  for  ex- 
pansion and  efficiency  are  costly,  but  it  will 
result  in  savings  which  in  the  course  of  the 
next  decade  will  aggregate  millions.  It  is 
the  deep-seated  conviction  of  all  who  have 
thought  much  on  educational  missionary 
problems  that  we  are  summoned  irresistibly 
to  a  united  policy  and  to  corporate  action, 
and  that  the  more  quickly  and  strongly  the 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     199 

question  in  its  varied  and  practical  aspects 
is  grappled  with  unitedly  by  the  representa- 
tives of  the  missionary  forces,  the  better  it 
will  be  for  the  interests  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

Those  who  have  given  most  careful  study 
to  the  question  agree  that  much  of  the  medi- 
cal missionary  work  should  be  conducted 
on  the  basis  of  co-operation.  Thus  the  con- 
vention of  the  China  Medical  Missionary 
Association,  held  at  Peking  in  January,  1913, 
adopted  a  policy  calling  for  union  in  all  medi- 
cal college  work  in  that  country  and  agreed 
upon  the  number,  location  and  staff  require- 
ments of  such  colleges.  A  similar  policy  has 
been  approved  in  other  Asiatic  fields.  There 
is  also  agreement  in  nearly  every  country  as 
to  the  wisdom  of  co-operation  in  the  planting 
and  conduct  of  more  of  the  mission  hospitals. 
The  production  of  text-books  and  other 
technical  Hterature  required  by  medical 
workers  is  obviously  another  matter  which 
can  best  be  cared  for  by  the  different  Mis- 
sions in  concert. 

Even  cursory  investigation  has  revealed 

14 


200    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

the  fact  that  possibly  no  phase  of  missionary 
work  is  so  poorly  in  hand  as  that  dealing  with 
Christian  literature.  Certainly  no  other  de- 
partment is  suffering  more  from  lack  of  sys- 
tem and  co-operation.  The  secret  of  the 
wonderful  results  in  the  translation,  revision, 
circulation  and  study  of  the  vernacular  Bible 
is  found  largely  in  the  fact  that  the  home 
Societies  and  Churches  have  believed  pro- 
foundly in  such  work  and  have  co-operated 
earnestly  in  furnishing  for  it  both  men  and 
money.  Similar  interest  and  co-operation 
are  imperatively  demanded  with  reference 
to  the  general  Christian  literature  required 
on  every  mission  field.  Many  leaders  ac- 
knowledge this  in  theory,  but  fail  to  adopt 
and  follow  a  policy  in  accord  with  their  theory 
or  ideal.  Special  attention  should  be  given 
to  working  out  the  problem  of  the  federation 
or  unification  of  more  of  the  literature  socie- 
ties and  activities  in  India  and  China,  just 
as  has  been  accomplished  recently  in  Japan, 
where  one  comprehensive  society  now  serves 
all  the  Missions  and  Churches.  A  policy 
should  be  elaborated  and  adopted  by  the 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     201 

regular  Missionary  Societies  whicii  will  make 
possible  the  employment  of  able  editorial  sec- 
retaries. These  secretaries  are  needed  not 
so  much  for  authorship  as  for  directorship; 
that  is,  to  study  the  needs  of  the  respective 
language  areas  and  to  discover  and  enlist 
capable  writers. 

Owing  to  the  progress  of  education  in  all 
parts  of  Asia  the  literacy  of  the  people  is  con- 
stantly rising.  The  chief  religious  systems 
are  manifesting  growing  literary  activity. 
Antichristian  literature  continues  to  spread 
from  the  West  to  the  East.  The  native 
Church  is  growing  in  numbers  as  well  as  in 
intelligence.  Owing  to  these  and  other  con- 
siderations there  is  urgent  need  of  much  more 
extensive  and  serious  literary  activity  both 
on  the  part  of  and  on  behalf  of  the  Christian 
Church.  There  is  an  imperative  demand  for 
new  apologists  and  new  apologetic  literature 
to  minister  to  educated  non-Christians.  The 
leaders  and  members  of  the  Churches  also  re- 
quire a  far  larger  body  of  literature  by  which 
to  enrich  and  strengthen  faith  and  character 
and  to  help  to  qualify  for  Christian  service. 


202    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

An  examination  of  the  Christian  books  avail- 
able in  the  vernacular  for  the  Chinese,  Ko- 
rean, or  Japanese  pastor  or  other  Christian 
worker,  in  contrast  with  the  Christian  litera- 
ture accessible  to  the  average  clergj^nan  in 
England,  America,  Germany  or  Holland, 
would  occasion  not  only  surprise  but  real 
solicitude,  and  yet  we  are  looking  to  these 
men  to  build  national  Churches,  to  feed  the 
flock,  and  to  wage  a  triumphant  propaganda. 
From  the  nature  of  the  case  more  than  nine- 
teen-twentieths  of  the  Christian  literature 
required  in  Asia  can  best  be  produced  in 
co-operation.  Moreover,  co-operative  action 
is  required  to  ensure  its  wisest  and  most  eco- 
nomical distribution. 

There  is  special  need  just  now  of  co-opera- 
tion with  reference  to  the  subject  of  mission- 
ary co-operation  itself;  that  is,  there  is  great 
need  that  workers  and  leaders  in  the  mis- 
sionary movement,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
make  a  united  or  co-operative  study  of  prob- 
lems and  experiences  in  connection  with  co- 
operation. A  study  of  the  volume  of  findings 
of  the  Asia  Conferences  of  1912-13  reveals 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  CO-OPERATION     203 

literally  hundreds  of  practical  plans  or  pro- 
posals for  the  drawing  together  of  the  forces 
for  common  effort.  The  findings  on  co- 
operation, particularly  of  the  three  National 
Conferences,  constitute  a  practical,  sane  and 
really  masterly  approach  to  the  problem. 
This  co-operative  movement  can  no  more  be 
resisted  than  can  the  tides  of  the  sea.  Dis- 
cerning leaders  do  not  wish  to  resist  or  to 
stay  it,  but  they  do  see  the  wisdom  of  guiding 
it.  They  desire  to  make  it  a  helpful  and  not 
a  dangerous  or  a  weakening  process.  They 
recognize  that  there  are  perils  to  be  avoided. 
It  is  desirable  that  the  representatives  of  the 
Societies  hold  from  time  to  time  conferences  |  / 1 
on  co-operation  similar  to  the  one  held  in 
January,  1914,  in  New  York,  to  review  the 
progress  being  made  in  different  fields  in  co- 
operative missionary  enterprises,  that  they 
may  learn  and  make  available  the  lessons 
as  to  limitations  and  difficulties  involved 
in  this  process,  and  how  best  to  avoid  or 
counteract  possible  dangers  and  unsatisfac- 
tory experiences. 


WHERE    TO    PLACE    THE    CHIEF 

EMPHASIS  IN  THE  MISSIONARY 

ENTERPRISE 


VIII 

WHERE    TO    PLACE    THE    CHIEF 

EMPHASIS  IN  THE  MISSIONARY 

ENTERPRISE 

On  my  return  from  my  first  journey  around 
the  world  I  placed  chief  emphasis  upon  the 
need  of  a  large  increase  in  the  number  of 
foreign  missionaries.  At  the  end  of  my 
second  journey  throughout  the  principal  mis- 
sion fields  of  the  world  I  tried  to  call  special 
attention  to  the  necessity  of  augmenting 
greatly  the  native  arm  of  the  service.  In  the 
fight  of  my  more  recent  journeys,  which  have 
taken  me  not  only  to  Asiatic  but  also  to 
African  and  Latin  American  fields,  I  am  con- 
strained to  shift  the  emphasis  entirely  from 
numbers  to  quality,  and  especially  to  the 
spiritual  aspect  of  the  life  and  activity  of  the 
workers.  While  thousands  of  well-qualified 
new  missionaries  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
the  best  furnished  native  leaders  and  workers 

207 


208    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

are  required  to  enable  the  Christian  forces  to 
meet  the  present  world  situation,  beyond  a 
shadow  of  doubt  the  principal  requisite  is 
that  of  a  far  greater  manifestation  of  spiritual 
vitality  and  power  in  all  departments  of  the 
missionary  movement.  This  point  applies 
with  just  as  much  force  to  those  who  further 
the  work  of  the  Church  at  home  as  to  those 
responsible  for  its  extension  abroad.  The 
world-wide  expansion  of  pure  Christianity 
is  essentially  a  spiritual  and  a  superhuman 
movement.  Therefore,  the  chief  emphasis 
throughout  the  entire  enterprise  should  be 
placed  on  the  spiritual. 

In  the  aims  of  the  missionary  enterprise 
the  spiritual  should  hold  the  central  place. 
The  aim  of  Christian  missions  is  not  the  ex- 
pansion of  commerce,  not  the  extension  of 
the  spheres  of  political  influence  of  Western 
Christian  nations,  not  the  spread  of  Western 
learning  and  culture,  not  the  disintegration 
of  the  beliefs,  worships  and  practices  of  non- 
Christian  religions,  not  even  the  reproduc- 
tion in  non-Christian  lands  of  the  organized 
forms  of  Western  Christianity.    The  central 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS    209 

and  governing  aim  is  the  presentation  of  the 
living  Christ  to  all  men,  and  doing  so  in  such 
a  way  among  each  people  or  in  each  nation  as 
will  result  in  domesticating,  naturalizing  or 
making  truly  indigenous  pure  Christianity 
among  them.  The  primary  charge  of  the 
Founder  of  the  Christian  religion — a  charge 
which  has  never  been  repealed  and  has  not 
yet  been  fulfilled,  constitutes  this  the  initial 
or  major  aim.  It  is  this  most  vital  purpose — 
the  bringing  of  the  knowledge  of  the  living 
Christ  to  living  men — that  makes  possible  the 
working  out  of  His  life  in  the  life  of  a  nation. 
This  central  aim  of  the  missionary  enter- 
prise should  not  be  confounded  with  the 
various  missionary  methods,  such  as  the 
planting  of  Christian  schools  and  colleges, 
the  establishing  of  hospitals  and  dispensaries, 
the  production  and  distribution  of  Christian 
literature,  the  introduction  of  the  countless 
forms  of  social  service  and  of  other  special 
applications  of  Christianity.  These  and 
other  methods  and  means  simply  multiply 
the  opportunities  for  releasing  divine  life 
and  energy. 


210    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Moreover,  the  aim  should  not  be  confused 
with  the  results  of  missions.  One  result  of 
medical  missions  in  China  has  been  the  im- 
provement of  the  physical  well-being  of  the 
Chinese  race,  but  this  was  not  the  dominating 
aim  of  the  early  medical  missionaries.  One 
result  of  the  founding  of  Robert  College  was 
to  facilitate  the  emancipation  of  Bulgaria, 
but  this  was  not  the  design  of  the  founders 
of  that  beneficent  institution.  No  enterprise 
or  movement  among  men  has  yielded  larger 
social  and  moral  results  than  the  missionary 
movement,  but  these  results  have  largely 
been  by-products  of  the  enterprise  and  a 
necessary  consequence  of  holding  in  promi- 
nence the  central  spiritual  aim.  The  work 
of  Christian  missions  is  to  impart  divine 
vitality  to  decaying  civilizations  or  to  those 
characterized  by  low  vitality.  In  doing  so 
forces  are  liberated  whose  influence  and  out- 
reach no  one  can  foretell  or  estimate. 

The  spiritual  aim  may  well  be  called  the 
governing  aim;  for  it  should  determine  the 
missionary  program  or  policy  to  be  followed, 
the  methods  and  means  to  be  employed,  the 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS    211 

extent  and  distribution  of  the  financial  re- 
sources, the  quahfications  and  expenditure  of 
the  time  of  the  workers  and  the  spiritual 
forces  to  be  enHsted.  The  largest,  most 
beneficent  and  most  enduring  results  have 
followed  where  this  goal  has  been  kept  clearly 
in  view  and  steadfastly  pursued.  Many  un- 
fortunate pages  of  experience  in  the  name  of 
missions  would  never  have  been  written  had 
this  spiritual  aim  always  been  given  the 
absolute  right  of  way  in  missionary  policy 
and  practice.  It  is  well,  therefore,  in  all  our 
thinking  and  acting  that  we  be  dominated 
by  the  conviction  that  only  the  living  Christ 
can  bring  life  to  a  dying  world. 

The  spiritual  should  be  uppermost  in  mis- 
sionary methods.  Every  method  is  proper 
which  is  consistent  with  this  dominant,  vital 
aim,  and  which  helps  to  realize  it.  There 
are,  of  course,  some  methods  which  help  more 
than  others  to  attain  the  central  spiritual  end. 
It  is  wise  to  relate  all  methods  to  this  aim 
and  test  them  by  it.  Medical  missions,  edu- 
cational missions,  industrial  missions,  the  use 
of    Uterature,    social    betterment    projects, 


212    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Christian  homes  and  countless  apphcations 
of  Christian  principles  have  demonstrated 
their  right  to  be.  They  should  be  multiplied 
on  a  vast  scale  throughout  the  non-Christian 
world  and  should  be  developed  to  the  highest 
possible  degree  of  efficiency.  They  are  abun- 
dantly worth  while  for  their  own  sake.  They 
are  indeed  evidences  of  Christianity.  They 
exhibit  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  helpfulness 
of  Christ.  "The  works  that  I  do  in  my 
Father's  name,  these  bear  witness  of  me." 
AH  such  helpful  expressions  of  the  spirit  of 
Christ  should  be  encouraged.  These  meth- 
ods, however,  must  not  be  regarded  as  ends 
in  themselves  but  as  means  tributary  to  the 
realization  of  the  great  objective — the  bring- 
ing of  men  under  the  actual  sway  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

How  easy  it  is  to  lose  sight  of  the  end  in  the 
methods  or  the  means.  A  wise  missionary  in 
the  Far  East  when  asked  some  twenty  years 
ago  to  give  his  opinion  about  the  work  of 
another  prominent  missionary  in  that  part  of 
the  world,  replied,  ''He  is  so  absorbed  with 
means  that  I  am  afraid  that  he  will  get  tired 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  213 

out  before  he  gets  to  the  end  for  which  all  of 
his  means  exist."  That  worker  seems  to  be 
no  nearer  arriving  at  the  true  end  now  than  he 
was  at  the  time  this  criticism  was  made.  Dr. 
Young  of  Arabia,  after  dealing  with  40,000 
surgical  cases,  said,  ''The  curse  of  Islam  is 
not  to  be  stopped  by  surgery  any  more  than 
immorahty  is  to  be  cured  by  free  breakfasts." 
Then  he  went  on  to  point  out  that  it  can  be 
overcome  only  by  meeting  its  weak  points 
and  making  men  dissatisfied  with  its  illogical 
or  unreasonable  basis. 

It  is  possible  for  men  to  go  out  as  mission- 
aries with  the  purpose  to  make  Christ  known 
and  yet  to  become  so  busy  in  the  work  of 
teaching  or  other  worthy  activities  that  they 
never  proclaim  Christ  to  those  over  whom 
they  have  won  influence.  The  principal  of  a 
Christian  college  in  Asia  remarked  in  a  re- 
cent conference,  that  he  did  not  expect  to 
have  conversions  in  his  college  in  this  genera- 
tion but  simply  to  do  the  work  preparatory 
for  making  conversions  possible  in  the  next 
generation.  He  then  added  that  his  home 
committee  agreed  with  him  that  conversions 


214    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

should  not  be  expected  in  the  present  genera- 
tion. It  need  not  be  pointed  out  that  this 
attitude  and  practice  is  not  hkely  to  result 
in  the  desired  conversions  in  the  next  genera- 
tion. Education  alone,  for  example,  will  not 
evangelize  the  world.  The  many  regular 
and  established  methods  of  missionary  work, 
educational,  medical,  literary,  philanthropic, 
are  right  and  should  be  employed  as  convin- 
cing expressions  of  the  unselfish  and  con- 
structive spirit  of  Christ,  but  it  is  not  the 
expression  or  illustration  of  the  spirit  of 
Christ  which  converts  and  transforms  men, 
but  the  living  Christ  Himself.  He  is  the 
Life  as  well  as  the  Way  and  the  Truth. 
All  other  methods  are  to  be  regarded  as 
schoolmasters  pointing  the  way  to  Him.  If 
the  worker  keeps  this  before  him  as  the  aim 
and  goal  and  vital  aspect  of  every  missionary 
effort,  then  the  use  of  any  good  means  will 
abound  in  marvelous  opportunities  to  present 
Christ.  The  deeper  one  penetrates  into 
the  problem  of  the  non-Christian  world  the 
more  one  recognizes  that  the  chief  hindrance 
is  not  ignorance,  disease  or  unfavorable  en- 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS    213 

vironment,  but  deadened  consciences  and 
unredeemed  wills.  The  proof  of  this  is  that 
pure  Christianity  meets  some  of  its  greatest 
obstacles  in  parts  of  the  non-Christian  world 
where  ignorance  and  disease  and  other  un- 
favorable external  conditions  have  been 
most  completely  banished. 

Some  missionary  methods  are  more  highly 
productive  than  others.  These  may  be  char- 
acterized as  the  most  vital  processes,  and  in 
all  cases  where  other  methods  are  employed 
these  vital  processes  should  be  employed 
with  them  or  be  related  to  them.  The  most 
important  and  productive  method  of  all  is 
that  of  relating  men  one  by  one  through 
reasonable  and  vital  faith  to  Jesus  Christ. 
By  reasonable  faith  is  meant  a  faith  for 
which  men  can  give  reasons  which  will  stand. 
By  vital  faith  is  meant  a  faith  which  actually 
transforms  life.  This  individual  work  for 
individuals  was  the  method  most  constantly 
employed  by  Christ  Himself  and  has  ever 
been  given  a  large  place  in  the  activities  of 
the  most  helpful  spiritual  workers.  It  is  the 
crowning  work,  the  most  highly  multiplying 

15 


216    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

work,  the  most  enduring  work.  The  most 
influential  converts  in  India  have  been  the 
product  of  personal  siege  work.  The  largest 
and  most  satisfactory  results  in  conversions 
both  in  colleges  and  in  hospitals  have  come 
from  the  use  of  the  same  method.  In  fields 
like  Korea  and  Manchuria,  where  Chris- 
tianity has  recently  spread  most  widely  and 
effectively,  the  secret  has  been  that  the 
leading  of  others  one  by  one  to  Christ  has 
been  inculcated  as  one  of  the  primary  duties 
of  the  Christian  convert.  Gibbon  assigns  as 
one  of  the  principal  causes  explaining  the 
rapid  spread  of  Christianity  in  the  Roman 
Empire  the  fact  that  each  convert  regarded 
it  as  his  greatest  privilege  and  responsibility 
to  disseminate  among  his  acquaintances  the 
inestimable  blessings  which  he  had  received. 
Harnack,  in  his  ''Expansion  of  Christianity," 
has  strongly  enforced  this  point. 

Another  one  of  the  most  vital  methods, 
judged  by  results,  is  that  of  preaching. 
Wherever  there  have  been  preachers  who 
were  truly  wise  guides  and  interpreters  and 
genuine  prophets,  the  spiritual  results  have 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  217 

transcended  all  human  calculations.  One  of 
the  most  serious  defects  of  the  missionary 
enterprise  and  of  the  native  Churches  in 
nearly  every  field  of  the  non-Christian  world 
is  the  dearth  of  able  gospel  preachers. 
The  time  of  most  missionaries  is  so  fully 
taken  by  administrative  and  other  work 
that  the  conditions  are  unfavorable  for 
the  development  and  exercise  of  the  pro- 
phetic function.  This  goes  far  to  explain 
why  there  are  comparatively  so  few  great 
preachers  among  the  natives;  they  need  in- 
spirational models  or  examples.  Quite  as 
great  as  the  need  for  many  preachers  of  power 
for  the  masses  is  that  for  a  larger  number  of 
very  able  apologetic  lecturers  or  preachers 
for  the  educated  classes. 

The  building  up  of  vital  indigenous 
Churches  constitutes  another  method  of  car- 
dinal importance.  The  Christian  Church  is 
the  society  entrusted  with  the  Gospel  for  all 
mankind.  Through  its  life  and  work  the 
nations  are  to  be  redeemed.  It  is  gratifying, 
therefore,  to  observe  multiplying  evidences 
that  the  Church  in  different  parts  of  the  non- 


218    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

Christian  world  is  becoming  truly  indigenous 
and  spiritual.  Whatever  is  done  to  facilitate 
this  desired  end  will  greatly  hasten  the  Chris- 
tian conquest  of  the  world. 

The  promotion  of  the  reading  and  thorough 
study  of  the  original  writings  of  Christianity 
is  likewise  a  method  of  living  power.  In  all 
fields  Bible  study  has  shown  power  to  awaken 
conscience.  It  gives  the  impression  in  some 
cases  of  having  created  conscience.  One  of 
the  leading  ministers  in  Japan  in  describing 
his  conversion,  said,  "Behind  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  I  found  the  living  God.  My  con- 
science was  enlivened  and  henceforth  I  could 
do  nothing  wrong."  A  Mohammedan  in 
Arabia,  in  speaking  of  the  Gospels,  said  that 
he  liked  the  historical  parts  but  that  the 
words  of  Jesus  made  him  tremble.  The  Bible 
multiplies  sins;  that  is,  under  the  blaze  of  its 
light  things  come  to  be  regarded  as  sinful 
which  otherwise  are  condoned  or  regarded  as 
right.  The  diffusion  of  the  Bible  and  the  study 
of  its  principles  is  a  precursor  of  spiritual 
awakenings.  It  goes  far  to  explain  the  Puri- 
tan paradox  that  with  increasing  holiness 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS    219 

grows  the  sense  of  sin.  The  study  of  the 
Christian  Scriptures  vitahzes.  Emerson  in 
speaking  of  the  words  of  de  Montaigne,  says, 
"Cut  these  words,  and  they  would  bleed j 
they  are  vascular  and  alive."  With  much 
greater  aptness  and  force  might  these  words 
be  applied  to  the  Christian  writings.  In  those 
communities  where  Christ's  teachings  and  life 
are  most  studied  and  applied  one  is  remind- 
ed of  nature  in  springtime.  ''Everything 
shall  Hve  whithersoever  this  river  cometh." 

The  releasing  of  the  truth  of  the  Bible 
results  in  wonderful  transformations  of 
individuals  and  communities.  Men  are 
changed  not  simply  in  name  or  opinion  but 
also  in  character  and  spirit.  Communities  are 
completely  transformed.  One  need  only  con- 
trast communities  in  which  Christ's  teachings 
are  known  and  obeyed  with  those  which  are 
ignorant  of  them.  This  is  well  expressed  by 
Professor  Francis  G.  Peabody  of  Harvard,  in 
writing  of  a  recent  journey  in  the  Near  East: 
"I  was  riding  one  day  across  the  Lebanon 
range  between  Damascus  and  the  sea,  and 
passed    through    many    Turkish    villages, 


220    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

squalid  and  unclean,  with  women  veiled  and 
children  slinking  from  the  stranger,  and  fields 
but  thinly  sown.  Of  a  sudden  I  came  upon 
another  scene.  It  was  a  village  where  thrift 
and  order  prevailed,  where  there  were  flowers 
in  the  windows  and  unveiled  women  at  the 
doors,  and  children  caUing  a  welcome  as  I 
passed.  What  did  this  transformation  mean? 
It  was  a  Christian  village.  Fifty  years  before 
there  had  been  set  up  by  the  sea,  at  Beirtit, 
the  mission  station  of  American  Presby- 
terians. It  was  about  fifty  miles  away  and 
year  by  year,  one  mile  a  year,  the  influence  of 
that  teaching  had  radiated  like  sunshine  over 
a  darkened  land;  and  a  new  way  of  life,  a 
converted  conduct,  an  assimilated  civiliza- 
tion had  become  unconsciously  naturalized 
and  appropriated.  The  mission  of  Christi- 
anity had  been  fulfilled  in  a  better  way  than 
some  of  its  supporters  had  desired  or 
dreamed.  It  was  not  the  victory  of  a  creed, 
but  the  witness  of  a  spirit.  It  was  not  Pres- 
byterianism  that  met  me,  but  Christ.  The 
word  had  been  with  power:  'The  Life  had 
become  the  light  of  men.'" 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS    221 

The  study  of  the  Bible  releases  vital  energy. 
De  Quincey  has  divided  all  literature  into  the 
literature  of  knowledge  and  the  literature 
of  power.  These  writings  are  preeminently 
the  literature  of  power.  As  a  Jewess  in 
speaking  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  remarked, 
''They  make  me  wish  to  obey  them."  From 
what  other  writings  have  there  poured  forth 
such  streams  of  moral  energy?  The  maxi- 
mum of  responsiveness  to  duty  is  found  in 
those  i^laces  where  Christ's  principles  are 
best  expounded  and  understood.  It  is  not 
strange  that  in  such  communities  we  find 
men  devoting  themselves  most  truly  to  un- 
selfish service.  The  beneficent,  reformatory, 
philanthropic  and  social  betterment  activi- 
ties are  found  in  the  lands  which  have  come 
most  under  the  influence  of  the  Bible.  In 
most  cases  where  this  spirit  of  unselfish- 
ness is  breaking  out  within  the  sphere  of 
other  religions  it  may  be  traced  indirectly 
if  not  directly  to  the  life  and  principles  of 
Christ. 

Other  methods  should  be  regarded  as 
tributary  to  these  most  vital  processes  or  as 


222    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

furnishing  points  of  contact  or  opening  doors 
of  opportunity  for  them.  The  New  Testa- 
ment has  misled  us  and  Christ  did  not  mean 
what  He  said  if  incomparably  the  most  im- 
portant work  in  Christian  missions  be  not 
that  of  introducing  men  to  Him  as  a  divine 
person  and  bringing  them  under  His  sway. 

As  one  travels  over  the  world  he  finds  here 
and  there,  in  foreign  lands  as  well  as  at  home, 
individual  missionaries  or  workers  who  are 
apparently  by  their  lives  influencing  the 
spread  of  Christianity  far  more  profoundly 
and  extensively  than  others.  Judged  by  re- 
sults, certain  individuals  of  this  kind  are 
achieving  more  than  scores  or  hundreds  of 
other  workers  possessing  like  general  quali- 
fications and  having  Hke  opportunities.  While 
some  of  these  lives  which  are  most  productive 
spiritually  are  men  of  prominence,  others  are 
of  humble  station  and  are  comparatively  un- 
known. One  need  only  reflect  upon  the  career 
and  influence  of  such  Christlike  workers  as 
Hudson  Taylor,  Pastor  Ding  Li-mei,  and  the 
teacher,  Chang  Po-hng,  in  China;  the  Hon. 
Yun  Chi-ho  of  Korea;  Mr.  Ishii,  recently  de- 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS    223 

ceased,  who  was  the  George  Miiller  of  Japan, 
and  the  late  Archbishop  Nicolai  of  the  Russian 
Mission  in  that  country;  Kah  Charan  Banurji 
of  Calcutta,  Mr.  Chacko,  the  student  worker 
in  Madras,  and  Bishop  Azariah  of  India; 
Donald  Fraser  of  Livingstonia;  and  Baroness 
Wreda,  the  worker  among  the  prisons  of  Fin- 
land. As  the  influence  going  forth  from  such 
lives  is  studied,  the  conviction  deepens  that 
what  is  needed  is  not  so  much  to  quadruple 
our  numbers  as  to  quadruple  ourselves,  the 
better  to  allow  God  to  do  through  us  what  He 
has  been  doing  through  these  and  what  He 
did  through  the  workers  in  the  apostolic  age. 
One  student  of  the  early  days  of  Christi- 
anity has  noted  that  the  predominant  traits 
of  the  early  Christians,  explaining  the  depth 
and  outreach  of  their  spiritual  influences, 
were  purity,  honesty,  unworldliness  and  love 
of  one  another.  As  we  study  the  lives  of 
these  more  recent  Christian  workers,  what 
seems  to  characterize  them?  Apparently 
they  have  all  preserved  the  sense  of  divine 
mission.  They  have  maintained  as  a  reality 
fellowship  with  God.    They  have  kept  their 


224    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

sensitiveness,  never  becoming  hardened  or 
callous  to  the  tragic  facts  of  the  sins  and 
spiritual  needs  of  those  about  them.  They 
have  never  lost  the  power  of  sympathy  or 
compassion.  They  have  not  stagnated  intel- 
lectually or  spiritually,  but  have  preserved 
their  capacity  for  growth.  Recognizing  that 
one  of  the  principal  qualifications  of  the  mis- 
sionary is  that  he  must  have  life  to  give,  they 
have  maintained  at  all  costs  right  habits  of 
nurture  or  feeding  their  own  spiritual  lives. 
These  workers  constantly  remind  one  of  the 
living  Christ.  Thus  the  true  missionary  is  a 
missionary  because  he  cannot  help  it.  He 
has  the  life  of  Christ  pulsating  within  him. 
He  is  like  Christ  not  because  he  laboriously 
imitates  Him  but  because  he  is  so  truly  and 
constantly  related  to  Christ  that  Christ's 
Spirit  manifests  Himself  in  and  through 
him.  The  scriptural  sense  of  glory,  accord- 
ing to  George  Adam  Smith,  is,  ''God  become 
visible."  Thus  these  workers  show  forth  the 
living  God.  Their  lives  remind  men  that 
Christ  not  only  was,  but  is.  ''  If  all  English- 
men  were  like   Donald   McLeod,"   said   a 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS    225 

Hindu,  ''India  would  soon  become  a  Chris- 
tian country." 

Only  as  the  workers  place  the  chief  empha- 
sis on  the  spiritual  in  their  lives  and  in  their 
work,  in  their  plans  and  in  all  relationships, 
are  they  able  to  meet  successfully  the  many 
spiritual  dangers  which  beset  them.  The 
more  important  the  career,  the  more  numer- 
ous, subtle,  and  powerful  the  spiritual  perils. 
All  the  home  supports  are  removed  from  the 
life  of  the  missionary.  He  lives  in  compara- 
tive isolation  and  loneHness.  He  is  sur- 
rounded with  a  most  depressing  environ- 
ment. He  is  subjected  to  positive  and  fierce 
temptations.  He  has  to  maintain  a  high  level 
of  spiritual  life  without  the  support  of  visible 
Christian  fellowship  and  without  the  con- 
tinual renewing  and  stimulus  which  comes 
from  the  many  helps  with  which  we  are 
familiar  at  home.  Great  drafts  are  made 
upon  his  whole  being  by  those  who  are  look- 
ing to  him  for  sympathy,  guidance  and 
leadership.  Removed  far  from  the  eye  of  all 
supervising  boards  and  supporting  constitu- 
encies he  is  subjected  to  special  dangers  of 


226    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

spiritual  slothfulness  or  slackness.  There  is 
much  in  his  position  to  encourage  dictatorial- 
ness  and  self-sufficiency.  In  the  midst  of 
such  conditions  nothing  but  a  consistent 
and  constant  emphasis  upon  the  spiritual 
side  of  life  can  save  him  from  being  over- 
come and  hold  him  true  to  his  high  and  holy 
purpose. 

It  is  equally  important  that  chief  emphasis 
be  placed  upon  the  spiritual  in  the  life  of  the 
home  Church  in  its  relation  to  the  expansion 
of  the  Christian  religion.  One  of  the  most 
crucial  factors  in  the  evangelization  of  the 
world  is  the  state  of  the  Church  in  Christian 
lands.  This  point  was  strongly  emphasized 
in  the  opinions  of  the  leaders  of  the  Chris- 
tian forces  in  all  lands  as  expressed  in  the  in- 
vestigation carried  on  by  Commission  I  of  the 
World  Missionary  Conference  at  Edinburgh. 
There  is  without  doubt  a  direct  and  vital  con- 
nection between  the  performance  of  our  work 
at  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  the  quality  and 
fulness  of  our  spiritual  life  on  the  home  field. 
The  missionary  enterprise  shares  in  much 
larger  measure  than  is  usually  recognized  the 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  227 

ideals  and  spirit  of  the  home  Church  and  car- 
ries these  influences  into  the  life  of  the  Church 
it  creates  in  the  non-Christian  world.  Cer- 
tainly in  the  initial  stage  of  the  missionary- 
enterprise — a  most  critical  stage — the  Church 
at  home  which  produces,  chooses,  trains,  and 
sends  out  the  missionary,  determines  the 
faith,  ideals  and  practices  which  are  being 
propagated. 

The  object  lesson  of  the  home  Church  also 
profoundly  influences  native  Christian  work- 
ers who  come  to  us  year  by  year  in  increasing 
numbers  for  purposes  of  study  and  investiga- 
tion. They,  as  well  as  unbelievers,  when 
they  see  the  unchristian  aspects  of  our  civili- 
zation— our  shocking  denials  of  Christ — ^must 
be  affected  by  it  all. 

At  times  we  may  seriously  question  whether 
we  have  a  Christianity  worth  propagating 
over  the  world.  If  there  be  grounds  for  such 
skepticism,  however,  history  shows  that  the 
last  thing  to  do  under  such  conditions  is  to 
abandon  or  contract  the  missionary  propa- 
ganda. We  should  rather  augment  our  mis- 
sionary efforts,  for  therein  lies  the  secret  of 


228    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

maintaining  and  increasing  our  vital  energy. 
Moreover,  the  world  of  Christianity  is  meas- 
ured by  what  it  has  of  Christ.     In  what  land 
and  in  what  generation  has  Christ  been  better 
known  than  in  America  to-day?    If  He  be 
necessary  to  us,  He  is  necessary  to  all  men, 
and  it  is  our  solemn  duty  to  make  Him  known 
to  all  men.    The  missionary  movement  exists 
to  make  Him  known,  to  fix  the  attention  of 
aU  men  upon  Him,  to  expose  them  to  His 
influence.    We  say  to  the  non-Christians, 
'^The  things  in  our  civilization  which  you  de- 
spise and  of  which  we  are  ashamed  are  not 
due  to  Jesus  Christ  but  to  our  lack  of  Him.'* 
To  meet  the  present  colossal  world  situa- 
tion great  spiritual  forces  must  be  released. 
In  the  present  generation  of  Christians  in 
the  West  are  vast  capacities  for  sacrifice. 
"Except  a  grain  of  wheat  fall  into  the  earth 
and  die,  it  abideth  by  itself  alone;  but  if  it 
die,  it  beareth  much  fruit."     The  secret  of 
large  fruitage  so  much  desired  and  needed 
on  every  field  lies  in  releasing  this  latent 
force  of  sacrifice.    The  spirit  of  Christian  mis- 
sions is  the  spirit  of  Christ;  and  His  spirit 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  229 

was  and  is  essentially  a  spirit  of  supreme 
self-sacrifice.  With  Him  it  reached  further 
than  from  Gethsemane  to  Calvary.  He 
lived  a  life  of  constant  self-denial.  His  law 
of  sacrifice  His  disciples  gradually  made  their 
own.  The  Roman  world  was  conquered  by 
it.  When  will  the  Christians  of  Western 
lands  make  it  their  own?  Great  is  the  need 
of  recovering  the  New  Testament  conception 
of  discipleship.  Both  ai  the  home  base  and 
on  the  mission  field  there  is  imperative  need 
of  a  far  more  serious  and  resolute  following 
of  Christ.  Christians  have  been  prone  to 
make  the  Gospel  too  cheap.  There  has  not 
been  enough  patient  endurance  of  hardness. 
We  forget  that  Christ  has  summoned  men  to 
count  the  cost.  Only  the  Cross  brings  heroes 
and  martyrs.  How  may  this  spirit  of  sacri- 
fice, which  is  the  spirit  of  true  triumph,  be 
developed?  Not  so  much  by  calling  attention 
to  the  needs  and  possibilities  of  the  non- 
Christian  world,  nor  bj'  dwelling  on  the  mag- 
nitude and  wonder  of  the  present  opportu- 
nity, but  by  pondering  the  price  that  must 
be  paid  to  meet  these  needs,  to  improve  these 


230    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

opportunities  and  to  realize  these  possibili- 
ties. All  followers  of  Christ  should  think 
deeply  on  what  it  cost  Him  to  bring  into  the 
world  the  knowledge  of  God  and  the  forgive- 
ness of  sin  and  the  life  everlasting. 

Another  mighty  spiritual  force  which  must 
be  far  more  largely  released  is  that  of  faith. 
The  whole  missionary  enterprise  needs  to  be 
lifted  up  into  a  sphere  of  large  dimensions, 
the  sphere  of  faith  in  the  living  and  the 
almighty  God.  Christians  at  home  and 
abroad  have  been  regulating  their  plans  and 
activities  too  much  by  precedents  and  by 
visible  resources  and  not  enough  by  the  ob- 
vious designs  of  God  and  by  His  invisible 
and  boundless  resources.  We  need  to  recover 
more  largely  Christ's  conception  of  the  char- 
acter and  ability  of  God.  Then  will  we  be 
characterized  more  by  the  faith  which  domi- 
nated the  Christians  of  the  apostolic  age. 
One  of  the  most  hopeful  aspects  of  the  present 
world  situation  is  its  overwhelming  magni- 
tude and  difficulty,  for  the  history  of  the 
Church  clearly  shows  that  such  conditions 
greatly  facilitate  a  deepening  acquaintance 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS   231 

with  God  and  the  discovery  of  His  ways  and 
the  releasing  of  His  power. 

It  becomes  increasingly  evident  that  the 
present  world  situation  can  be  met  only 
through  a  great  manifestation  of  superhuman 
wisdom,  superhuman  love  and  superhuman 
power.  Intercession  is  the  means  which  re- 
leases these  omnipotent  forces  and  brings 
them  to  bear  upon  the  missionary  movement. 
The  Church  has  not  yet  discovered,  still  less 
begun  to  realize,  the  limitless  possibilities  of 
intercession.  The  most  alarming  fact  is  that 
there  are  so  few  Christians  who  are  devoting 
themselves  with  conviction  and  faithfulness 
to  prayer  on  behalf  of  the  extension  of 
Christ's  Kingdom.  Well,  therefore,  may  the 
question  ^be  raised.  Why  are  there  not  more 
intercessors,  and  why  are  we  ourselves  not 
more  faithful  in  intercession?  In  the  case  of 
many  Christians  this  is  due  to  a  lack  of 
meditation  upon  God  and  His  ways  of  work- 
ing. It  is  impossible  for  anyone  who  honestly 
desires  to  be  Christlike,  to  think  thoroughly 
and  conclusively  upon  praj^er  in  its  relation 
to  the  resources  of  God,  and  also  upon  the 

16 


232    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

deepest  and  most  pressing  needs  of  men,  and 
not  have  the  purpose  take  shape  within  him 
to  imitate  Christ  in  intercession  as  in  other 
things. 

The  reason  some  do  not  give  themselves  to 
intercessory  prayer  is  that  they  have  fallen 
under  the  spell  of  insidious  unbelief.  This  is 
due,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  scientific  temper 
which  emphasizes  exclusively  a  certain  order 
of  nature,  and,  on  the  other,  to  the  idea  that 
the  infinite  goodness,  omniscience  and  omni- 
potence of  God  make  intercessory  prayer 
needless.  We  do  well  to  remind  ourselves 
that  if  the  Bible  teaching  and  record  about 
prayer  be  true,  then  no  matter  with  how 
much  mystery  its  practice  and  achievements 
may  be  surrounded,  it  is  a  central  reality  in 
human  experience.  At  times  in  my  own  life 
I  have  had  grave  doubts  as  to  the  objective 
power  of  prayer.  To  help  remove  these  I 
have  read  possibly  forty  treatises  on  the  sub- 
ject; but,  while  many  of  these  were  helpful, 
they  did  not  of  themselves  dissolve  my 
doubts.  Among  other  aids  to  faith,  I  might 
mention  two  which  have  helped  to  carry  me 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS   233 

through  my  difficulties  into  a  sense  of  cer- 
tainty as  to  the  achieving  power  of  prayer  for 
others.  The  first  is  the  practice  of  interces- 
sion. The  more  one  reflects  upon  it  the  more 
strongly  will  one  come  to  believe  that  this 
form  of  prayer  can  be  verified  only  by  em- 
ploying it.  The  other  thing  which  has  in- 
variably helped  me  in  moments  of  doubt  or 
perplexity  is  the  simple  reflection — Jesus 
Christ  prayed  for  others.  Then  I  have  said 
to  myself,  If  He  found  this  practice  necessary 
or  even  desirable,  what  presumption  to  as- 
sume that  I  can  do  without  it!  Let  us  face 
the  fact  that  not  to  intercede  for  others 
implies  a  fundamental  lack  of  faith  in  God  as 
revealed  in  Christ,  whereas  to  forget  our- 
selves in  intense  prayer  for  others  is  an  ab- 
solute proof  that  we  believe  in  God  as  a 
living  God  who  is  actually  presiding  over  the 
affairs  of  men. 

It  is  painful  but  necessary  to  add  that  some 
Christians  do  not  devote  themselves  to 
prayer  for  others  because  they  are  living  on 
a  plane  which  violates  the  conditions  of  effect- 
ive intercession.     It   passes   comprehension 


234    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

how  some  men  can  expect  to  believe  in  inter- 
cession as  the  mightiest  force  wielded  on 
earth,  in  view  of  what  they  tolerate  within 
the  chambers  of  their  imagery,  in  their  mo- 
tive life,  in  their  attitude  and  spirit  toward 
others — not  to  mention  outbreaking  sins  and 
practices. 

Without  doubt,  many  are  kept  from  the 
immeasurable  possibilities  of  the  life  of  inter- 
cession because  of  the  difficulties  which  beset 
the  path.  It  is  not  easy  to  forget  ourselves 
and  become  absorbed  in  unselfish  thought 
and  prayer  for  others.  It  requires  energy  to 
exercise  the  imagination  to  such  an  extent 
that  we  are  able  to  put  ourselves  so  sympa- 
thetically in  the  place  of  the  man  for  whom 
we  pray  that  we  literally  give  ourselves  to 
prayer  on  his  behalf.  It  requires  an  exercise 
of  the  imagination  to  realize,  so  vividly  that 
our  very  soul  is  moved,  the  mind  of  Christ 
concerning  any  man  or  cause  for  which  we 
pray.  David  said,  "I  give  myself  unto 
prayer" — not  simply  his  words  or  thoughts, 
but  himself.  Professor  George  Adam  Smith 
once  preached  at  Yale  University  a  remark- 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS    235 

able  sermon  on  Christ's  intercession  in  the 
Garden.  It  will  be  found  rewarding  to  read 
that  sermon,  noticing  the  point  he  makes 
about  the  nervous  energy  which  Christ  ex- 
pended in  His  intercession.  While  this  kind 
of  prayer,  like  everything  else  of  most  value, 
costs  vitality,  it  is  equally  and  happily  true 
that  under  the  gracious  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  Who  helps  our  infirmity,  it  may  be  free 
from  all  anxious  striving  and  strain.  Yes, 
more  than  this,  ''They  that  wait  upon  the 
Lord  shall  renew  their  strength.''  All  the 
more,  therefore,  should  we  avoid  drifting  into 
slothfulness  in  habits  of  prayer.  There  is  no 
way  to  make  intercession  easy.  It  will  ever 
remain  true  that  while  the  spirit  may  be  will- 
ing the  flesh  is  weak.  We  do  well,  therefore, 
to  give  no  cause  for  the  well-merited  com- 
plaint of  the  prophet  in  the  ancient  time, 
"There  is  none  .  .  .  that  stirreth  up  him- 
self to  take  hold  of  Thee." 

Christ's  concern  for  man,  associated  with 
His  hfe  of  unbroken  prayer  to  God  on  behalf 
of  others,  suggests  a  root  reason  why  many 
otherwise  loyal  Christians  are  not  more  faith- 

17 


236    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

ful  in  intercession;  it  is  because  they  do  not 
sufficiently  care  for  men,  and  their  hearts  are 
not  sufficiently  responsive  to  the  solicitude  of 
God  on  behalf  of  men.  Think  of  those  who 
are  being  captivated  by  the  luxurious  life  of 
our  day  without  realizing  its  consequences, 
of  others  who  are  already  slaves  of  body  and 
soul-destroying  habits,  of  still  others  who  are 
suffering  from  serious  doubt  or  subtle  pride 
or  selfish  and  overmastering  ambition.  How 
shall  a  Christlike  sympathy  in  prayer  for  in- 
dividuals like  these  take  the  place  of  our 
selfish  indifference  or  undue  absorption  in 
other  things?  Our  own  recollection  and  ex- 
perience of  temptation  or  failure  must  be 
used  to  impress  upon  us  the  needs  of  tempted 
and  discouraged  men.  Every  victory  or 
achievement  accomplished  with  a  true  sense 
of  Christ's  sufficiency  and  our  own  insuffi- 
ciency must  impel  us  to  exercise  faith  for 
others  also.  To  have  the  most  helpful  rela- 
tions with  our  fellow  men,  and  the  closest  fel- 
lowship with  our  Lord,  who  prayed  for 
tempted  Peter,  we  must  share  at  any  cost 
His  present  work  of  intercession. 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  237 

The  fact  should  not  be  overlooked  that  in- 
tercession does  not  have  a  larger  place  in  the 
lives  of  Christians  because  of  their  failure  to 
master  the  conditions  in  which  they  find 
themselves.  It  is  desirable  to  have  a  stated 
and  unhurried  time  for  intercession.  Our 
most  profitable  employment  should  not  be 
crowded  into  a  corner.  The  words  of  the 
Apostle,  ''That  ye  may  give  yourselves  unto 
prayer,"  are  rendered  by  Dean  Alford,  ''That 
ye  may  have  undisturbed  leisure  for  prayer." 
This  emphasis  is  especially  needed  in  these 
days  because  of  the  impetuosity  and  restless- 
ness of  our  times.  One  of  the  chief  reasons, 
apparently,  why  Christ  went  apart  for  pro- 
longed prayer  is  the  very  reason  why  many 
busy  Christians  excuse  themselves — the  fact 
that  He  had  so  much  to  do  and  that  the  issues 
at  stake  were  so  great.  How  much  better  for 
those  of  us  who  can  control  the  time  of  going 
to  our  accustomed  place  of  labor,  to  go  per- 
chance one  half-hour  later,  or  for  those  of  us 
who  cannot,  to  retire  at  night  a  half-hour 
later,  or,  better,  to  rise  a  half-hour  earlier, 
that  we  may  help  others  by  prayer — the  most 


238    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

effective  way  known  among  men — rather 
than  be  slaves  to  our  present  schedule  and 
rob  men  of  that  which  can  be  given  to  them 
only  through  our  intercession.  Let  us  not 
labor  under  the  delusion  that  there  will  come 
a  leisure  time  for  unhurried  retreat  with  God 
on  behalf  of  men;  for  if  ever  that  time  comes, 
many  of  the  occasions  which  demand  our  in- 
tercession will  have  passed.  Moreover,  days 
of  special  retreat  invariably  mean  most  to 
those  who  have  faithfully  observed  from  day 
to  day  the  requirements  of  true  intercession. 
Let  us  learn  to  utilize  many  unrecognized 
opportunities  for  intercession.  What  are 
some  of  these  lost  opportunities  which  might 
be  transmuted  into  the  most  profitable  expe- 
riences of  life?  On  street  cars,  even  when 
standing  in  the  press  of  strangers  and  holding 
to  the  swaying  strap;  waiting  at  stations  for 
trains,  or  in  reception  rooms  or  outer  ofl&ces 
for  appointments  or  interviews;  before  the 
beginning  of  a  religious  service;  or  perchance 
during  addresses,  sermons  or  debates;  some- 
times when  our  souls  are  especially  moved, 
or  quite  as  much  when  there  seems  to  be 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  239 

nothing  to  stir  us  to  this  highest  calHng — these 
are  times  and  places  for  ^'buying  up  the  op- 
portunity." 

In  the  conferences  with  Christian  leaders 
in  India  conducted  in  the  name  of  the  Con- 
tinuation Committee  of  the  Edinburgh  World 
Missionary  Conference,  it  was  a  special  satis- 
faction to  have  with  us  at  three  of  the  gather- 
ings one  of  the  most  prominent  Christian 
leaders  in  the  life  and  thought  of  Great  Brit- 
ain. Noticing  that  he  had  his  hands  before 
his  eyes  much  of  the  time,  I  thought  at  first 
that  it  must  be  because  he  was  seated  where 
the  light  was  troubling  him.  Then  I  thought 
that  he  was  occupied  in  meditation.  But 
later  I  discovered  that  he  was  giving  himself 
almost  constantly  to  intercession  on  behalf 
of  those  participating  in  the  discussions  and 
on  behalf  of  the  momentous  interests  which 
they  were  seeking  to  serve.  Nor  shall  I  for- 
get how  he  came  to  some  of  the  evangeUstic 
meetings  with  Mohammedan,  Hindu  and 
Buddhist  students,  and  from  the  beginning 
to  the  close,  sat  bowed  in  prayer  while  I 
sought  to  proclaim  the  vital  message.     It  is 


240    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

my  belief  that  to  such  prayer  on  the  part  of 
this  friend  and  others  Hke  him  are  traceable 
the  otherwise  inexphcable  results  of  these 
conferences  and  evangelistic  meetings. 

To  nearly  every  person  there  come  periods 
when  he  is  set  aside  for  a  season  from  the 
activities  of  his  regular  vocation.  It  is  a 
tragic  fact  that  this  experience  has  marked 
the  undoing  of  some  Christians;  but  what  an 
inspiring  fact,  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  has 
been  an  open  door  to  many  another,  ushering 
him  into  the  most  productive  period  of  his 
life. 

Each  person  must  evolve  the  plan  of  using 
lists  of  objects  for  intercession  which  experi- 
ence shows  to  be  most  workable  in  his  partic- 
ular case.  We  should  not  slavishly  follow 
the  plans  of  others,  although  presumably  we 
may  learn  something  from  the  methods  of 
every  genuine  man  of  prayer.  A  plan  which 
is  the  product  of  our  own  faith  and  experi- 
mentation should  not  be  irksome.  Many 
have  heard  of  that  wonderful  Chinese  Chris- 
tian, Ding  Li-mei,  famous  as  an  evangelist 
and  even  more  as  a  man  whose  attractive 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  241 

character  and  conduct  constitute  a  convin- 
cing evidence  of  the  Hfe  of  Christ  in  man.  In 
recent  years  he  has  influenced  the  largest 
number  of  students  to  devote  their  lives  to 
the  Christian  ministry  ever  secured  by  one 
man  during  the  history  of  the  Church  in  Asia. 
Those  who  know  him  best  will  say  that 
the  dynamic  secret  of  his  life  is  the  central 
place  which  he  gives  to  intercession.  The 
last  time  I  saw  him  he  had  recorded  in  a  book 
the  names  of  many  hundreds  of  individual 
Christians  from  all  parts  of  the  world  for 
whom  he  prayed  day  by  day.  In  traveling 
with  him  from  Shanghai  to  Dairen  on  our 
way  to  the  conference  in  Mukden,  I  observed 
that  he  spent  hours  alone,  either  walking  on 
the  deck,  or  seated  with  this  book  open  in  his 
hand.  Mr.  Brockman  says  that  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  of  China  is  the  product 
of  this  man's  prayers. 

Some  find  it  useful  to  employ  mechanical 
devices  to  help  keep  before  them  the  needs 
and  opportunities  for  intercession.  Photo- 
graphs of  friends  and  workers  for  whom  we 
should  pray  may  serve  as  prayer  reminders. 


242    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

The  map  of  the  world  on  my  working  table 
has  often  helped  extend  the  range  and  make 
more  concrete  the  world-embracing  sphere 
of  prayer.  If  experience  shows  that  a  card 
index  or  other  system  is  useful  in  bringing 
to  mind  our  duties  in  executive  work, 
why  not  avail  ourselves  of  similar  helps  on 
this  highest  level  of  personal  responsibility? 
We  should  be  on  our  guard,  however,  lest 
such  devices  fetter  our  prayer-life  or  make  it 
mechanical. 

In  view  of  the  alarmingly  small  number  of 
intercessors,  and  the  insistent  need  for  the 
work  which  they  can  do,  the  most  important 
question  of  all  to  consider  is.  How  multiply 
the  number  of  intercessors?  This  work  of 
increasing  the  volume  of  intercession  has 
not  received  the  attention  it  deserves,  al- 
though the  experience  of  all  the  centuries 
clearly  points  the  path.  Ministers  and  lay- 
men who  can  speak  with  reality  and  from 
actual  experience  should  give  addresses  and 
talks  on  the  subject  of  intercessory  prayer. 
Here  we  have  in  mind  not  dissertations  on  the 
grounds  of  prayer,  nor  on  the  reflex  benefits 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  243 

of  prayer,  important  as  are  these  phases  of 
the  subject,  but  on  that  aspect  of  prayer 
which  occupies  itself  with  bringing  definite 
help  to  other  men  and  enterprises.  Addresses 
on  this  subject,  born  out  of  sincere  efforts  to 
practise  what  is  enjoined  upon  others,  will 
have  contagious  power. 

Wide  but  careful  use  should  be  made  of  the 
best  Hterature  on  the  subject.  Pamphlets 
and  books  by  such  men  as  Andrew  Murray, 
Dean  Bosworth,  Robert  E.  Speer  and  the  late 
Professor  Gustav  Warneck  should  be  pressed 
upon  the  attention  of  each  succeeding  gener- 
ation. There  is  much  on  this  vital  subject 
that  will  reward  one's  reading  in  the  reports 
of  Commission  I,  Commission  IV,  and  Com- 
mission VI,  of  the  World  Missionary  Con- 
ference. 

Christians  as  they  meet  from  time  to  time 
should  interchange  experiences  concerning 
the  habits  and  conditions  most  favorable  for 
intercession  and  the  achievements  of  inter- 
cessory prayer.  Great  care  should  be  exercised 
to  limit  the  speaking  at  such  a  meeting  to 
those  who  will  present  the  subject  with  that 


244    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

reasonableness,  sanity  and  restraint  which 
characterize  those  who  are  reflecting  real 
experience. 

One  of  the  best  means  of  promoting  inter- 
cession is  that  of  laying  before  men  objects 
which  are  so  important  and  so  immediate  in 
their  claims  that  men  will  realize  that  they 
must  pray.  This  can  be  accomplished  by 
writing  letters  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
subject.  An  even  better  plan,  where  prac- 
ticable, is  an  interview  for  the  express  purpose 
of  enhsting  prayer.  If  time  is  well  spent  in 
personally  asking  for  gifts  of  money  and 
service,  is  it  not  even  more  important  to  fol- 
low this  plan  in  order  to  call  forth  interces- 
sion? 

Group  meetings  of  Christians  during 
religious  conventions  or  in  every-day  life  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  united  prayer  for  objects 
of  common  concern  will  serve  as  training 
schools  and  propagating  centers  of  interces- 
sion. This  has  been  illustrated  in  times  of 
actual  crisis  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Once 
when  visiting  a  Scandinavian  university 
a  most  serious  situation  confronted  us  in  a 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS   245 

series  of  special  religious  meetings.  During 
the  meeting,  on  which  apparently  everything 
hinged,  a  number  of  earnest  Christians 
quietly  withdrew  and  devoted  themselves  the 
entire  evening  to  special  prayer.  It  was, 
therefore,  no  surprise  to  me  to  see  the  walls 
of  opposition  fall  before  our  eyes. 

One  of  the  encouraging  facts  of  our  day  is 
the  increase  among  workers  of  the  practice  of 
holding  retreats.  There  is  incalculable  value 
in  the  going  apart  of  men  to  whom  have  been 
entrusted  responsibilities  beyond  their  own 
strength,  that  they  may  cultivate  a  larger 
acquaintance  with  God  and  yield  themselves 
more  fully  to  the  ways  of  Christ  for  bringing 
to  bear  the  power  of  God  upon  human  life. 

We  need  to  study  the  methods  of  Christ  in 
training  men;  and,  in  this  connection,  there 
are  no  more  impressive  lessons  than  those 
which  He  taught  His  disciples  by  precept  and 
by  example  in  relation  to  prayer.  It  is  a 
matter  of  regret  that  the  book  by  Andrew 
Murray,  ''With  Christ  in  the  School  of 
Prayer,"  is  not  so  widely  studied  now  as  a  few 
years  ago.    The  truths  there  expounded  are 


246    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

worthy  the  closest  study.  It  would  be  even 
better  to  go,  as  he  did,  to  the  sources — the 
teaching  and  example  of  Christ  Himself. 
No  man  can  do  this  persistently  and  obe- 
diently without  going  forth  a  changed  man. 
We  often  say  that  one  of  the  most  far-reaching 
things  Christ  ever  did  was  to  train  a  little 
band  of  men,  but  we  do  not  act  as  though  we 
believed  what  we  say.  If  we  did  believe  it 
more  of  us  would  be  sharing  our  thought  and 
experiences  with  others  and  associating  our- 
selves with  them  in  actual  intercession.  This 
would  multiply  the  number  of  intercessors 
in  a  truly  Christlike  way. 

Above  all,  we  ourselves  must  be  burdened 
with  a  sense  of  the  transcendent  importance 
of  increasing  the  number  of  men  who  will 
seek  to  release  the  power  of  God  by  prayer. 
The  sufficient  proof  that  we  are  thus  bur- 
dened is  what  we  do  in  our  own  secret  hour 
of  intercession.  Mr.  Moody  used  to  say,  "A 
man  is  what  he  is  in  the  dark."  We  may  test 
the  strength  and  the  purity  of  our  desire  and 
motive  by  what  we  do  where  God  alone  sees 
us.     If   there    be    genuineness    and   reality 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS   247 

there,  God  will  have  His  opportunity  to  break 
out  through  us,  and  our  experience  as  Inter- 
cessors will  become  truly  contagious.  Are 
men  moved  to  pray  as  a  result  of  conscious 
or  unconscious  touch  with  our  lives?  No 
more  searching  question  could  be  addressed 
to  us.  By  the  answer  we  give  in  our  inmost 
souls,  and  by  the  steps  which  we  take  as  a 
result  of  that  answer,  will  be  measured  not 
only  the  quahty  but  also  the  outreach  of  our 
lives. 

There  is  greater  need  to-day  than  ever  be- 
fore of  relating  the  limitless  power  of  united 
intercession  to  the  missionary  enterprise.  A 
time  of  unexampled  opportunity  and  crisis 
like  the  present  is  one  of  grave  danger.  There 
never  has  been  a  time  when  simultaneously 
in  so  many  non-Christian  lands  the  facts  of 
need  and  opportunity  presented  such  a  re- 
markable appeal  to  Christendom  as  now.  In 
every  conference  throughout  Asia  I  was 
charged  by  those  who  have  penetrated  most 
deeply  into  the  heart  of  the  problems  to  press 
upon  the  Missionary  Societies  the  imperative 
need   of   more    intercession;    above   all,    of 

17 


248    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 

united  intercession.  In  no  way  can  those  of 
us  who  are  responsibly  related  to  the  mis- 
sionary forces  better,  in  fact  in  no  way  can 
we  so  well,  serve  the  deepest  interests  of  all 
the  Societies,  Missions,  and  Churches  as  by 
multiplying  the  number  of  real  intercessors, 
and  by  focussing  the  prayers  of  Christendom 
upon  those  great  situations,  wonderful  open- 
ings, grave  crises,  alarming  perils  and  re- 
markable movements  which  demand  the  al- 
mighty working  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  This 
is  fundamental  and  central  to  everything  else 
we  are  called  upon  to  do.  Far  more  impor- 
tant and  vital  than  any  service  we  may  ren- 
der in  the  realm  of  promoting  the  science, 
strategy,  efficiency,  statesmanship,  leader- 
ship and  unification  of  the  vast  and  complex 
missionary  enterprise,  is  that  of  helping  to 
release  the  superhuman  energies  of  prayer, 
and,  through  uniting  in  this  holy  ministry 
true  intercessors  of  all  lands  and  of  all  com- 
munions, of  helping  to  usher  in  a  new  era 
abounding  in  signs  and  wonders  characteris- 
tic of  the  working  of  the  living  Christ.  We 
should  be  on  our  guard  lest  we  devote  a  dis- 


WHERE  TO  PLACE  CHIEF  EMPHASIS  249 

proportionate  amount  of  time  and  thought  to 
investigation  and  discussion  and  to  plans  for 
the  utilization  of  available  human  forces,  and 
not  enough  attention  to  what  is  immeasur- 
ably more  important — the  relating  of  what 
we  do  personally  and  corporately  to  the  foun- 
tain of  divine  life  and  energy.  The  Christian 
world  has  the  right  to  expect  from  the  leaders 
of  the  missionary  forces  not  only  a  more  thor- 
ough handling  of  the  facts  and  methods,  but 
also  a  larger  discovery  of  superhuman  re- 
sources and  a  greater  irradiation  of  spiritual 
power. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Africa,  3,  4,  5,  8,  12,  13,  15, 
19,  33,  62,  68,  69,  73,  102, 
104,  105,  112,  113,  114,  117, 
118,  119,  121,  128,  132,  137, 
149,  187,  207 

Alford,  Dean,  referred  to,  237 

Allier,  Prof.  R.,  referred  to,  32 

American  Association  for  In- 
ternational Conciliation,  139 

Anderson,  Riifus,  referred  to, 
74 

Apologetics,  63,  201 

Arabia,  213,  218 

Asia,  3,  8,  12,  15,  19,  27,  30,  68, 
75,  102,  105,  107,  112,  113, 
114,  115,  118,  121,  128,  132, 
136,  156,  177,  182,  184,  190, 
193,  195,  198,  201,  202,  207, 
213,  247 

Australasia,  4,  8,  137,  187 

Azariah,  Bishop  V.  S.,  referred 
to,  39,  223 

Banurji,  Kali  Charan,  referred 
to,  223 

Bible,  distribution  of,  154,  218; 
influence  of,  219,  221;  study 
of,  218,  221;  translation  of, 
154 

Boards  of  Missionary  Prepara- 
tion, 191,  196 

Bombay,  Bishop  of,  referred 
to,    164 

Bosworth,  E.  I.,  referred  to,  243 

Bradlaugh,  Charles,  referred 
to,  114 


Brent,  Bishop  Charles  H.,  re- 
ferred to,  129 

Brewer,  Justice,  referred  to, 
122 

Brockman,  F.  S.,  referred  to, 
241 

Bryan,  WiUiara  J.,  referred  to, 
136 

Bryce,  Lord,  quoted,  107,  122; 
referred  to,  136 

Buddhism,  40,  41,  116, 117 

Buddhist  missionaries,  41 

Buddhist  students,  in  Ceylon, 
41;  in  India,  37,  41,  239 

Burma,  work  among  the  stu- 
dents of,  40 

Canton,  evangelistic  campaign 

among  students  in,  48 
Carey,  William,  referred  to,  39 
Carnegie  Endowment  for  In- 
ternational Peace,  139 
Cecil,   Lord  William,   quoted, 

116 
Ceylon,  39,  40,  41;  work  among 

students  of,  40 
Chacko,  K.  C,  referred  to,  223 
Chalmers,  Dr.  James,  quoted, 

121 
Chang  Po-ling,  referred  to,  222 
China,  4,  13,  27,  46,  48,  49,  50, 
51,  54,  63,  65,  67,  69,  77,  83, 
88,  90,  102,  103,  110,  HI, 
112,  114,  116,  128,  137,  149, 
153,  155,  186,  187,  189,  192, 
200,  210,  222;  unification  of 


253 


254    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 


Christian  literature  societies 
in,  200;  work  among  stu- 
dents of,  46 

China  Medical  Missionary  As- 
sociation, convention  of,  199 
Christian    Endeavor    Society, 

154 
Christian  fellowship,  promo- 
tion of,  168 
Christian  literature,  66;  in 
China,  200;  in  India,  200;  in 
Japan,  66;  in  Russia,  26;  in 
Turkey,  32 ;  preparation  and 
circulation  of,  154 

Christianity,  present  oppor- 
tunity for  spread  of,  3;  re- 
cent unparalleled  triumphs 
of,  14;  world-wide  spread  of, 
10 

Christians,  capacities  of  pres- 
ent-day, 5,  74 

Church  federation,  155 

Church  history,  study  of,  88, 
193 

Church  Peace  Union,  139 

Churches  for  Anglo-American 
Communities  in  Mission 
Fields,  Committee  on  Pro- 
viding, 132 

Churches  on  the  mission  field, 
building  up  of,  217 

Cigarettes,  free  distribution  of, 
in  China,  111 

Comity,  principles  of,  observed, 
153 

Commercial  expansion,  97 

Commercial  representatives  in 
non-Christian  lands,  146 

Communication,  improved 
means  of,  5,  101 

Conferences  of  Mission  Boards, 
86,  156 

Conferences  on  Faith  and 
Order,  163,  192 


Confucian  reaction,  186 

Congo,  105,  113 

Continuation  Committee,  179, 
195;  creation  of,  156;  special 
committees  of,  87,  190,  191, 
194,  196,  198 

Continuation  Committee  Con- 
ferences in  Asia,  177,  178, 
182,  183,  190,  195,  197,  202, 
247;  in  India,  64,  184,  239;  in 
Japan,  185 

Co-operation  and  unity,  as  ex- 
hibited in  missions,  153; 
between  Churches,  73;  be- 
tween Missions,  73;  con- 
ference on,  in  January,  1914, 
203;  discussed  at  Edinburgh 
Conference,  70;  importance 
of,  158;  in  distribution, 
publication  and  translation 
of  the  Scriptures,  164;  lack 
of,  159 

Cosmopohtan  Club,  144 

Curzon,  Lord,  quoted,  87;  re- 
ferred to,  75 

Darwin,  Charles,  quoted,  112 
Denominational  differences  of 

the  West,  159 
De  Quincey,  Thomas,  referred 

to,  221 
Ding  Li-mei,  referred  to,  222, 

240 
"Domiciled  communities,"  133 
Drink  evil,  in  Africa,  112;  in 

Asia,  111;  in  Moslem  lands, 

111 
Duff,   Alexander,   quoted,   77; 

referred  to,  87 

Eclecticism,  14,  37 
Eddy,  Sherwood,  referred  to, 
1      25,  32,  37,  54 


INDEX 


255 


Education,  inadequacy  of  as 
bulwark  of  morals,  9,  10 

Educational  missions,  oppor- 
tunity of,  65 

Edwardes,  Sir  Herbert,  referred 
to,  136 

Egypt,  34;  work  among  stu- 
dents of,  33,  34 

Eliot,  Charles  W.,  referred  to, 
139 

Elliot,  Sir  Charles,  referred  to, 
136 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  quoted,  90, 
219 

Far  East,  3,  19,  42,  65,  111, 
112,  114,  115,  134,  135,  212 

Farquhar,  J.  N.,  referred  to,  79 

Focchow,  evangelistic  cam- 
paign among  students  in,  54 

Forbes,  W.  Cameron,  referred 
to,  135 

Foreign  students  in  American 
colleges,  140 

Frajser,  Donald,  referred  to,  223 

Gairdner,  W.  H.  T.,  referred 

to,  36 
German     Africa,     illegitimate 

children  in,  113 
Gibson,  Dr.  J.  C,  referred  to, 

88,  90 
Gladstone,  William  E.,  referred 

to,  91,   134 
Gold  Coast,  112 

Haeckel,  Ernst  H.,  referred  to, 

114 
Harada,,  President,  referred  to, 

78 
Harnack,  Adolph,  referred  to, 

216 
Hart,  Sir  Ilobert,  referred  to,  9 
Hawaiian  Islands,  137 


Hay,  John,  referred  to,  134 
Hindu  students,  in  India,  86, 

37,  39,  239 
Hinduism,  105,  111,  184 
Huxley,  Thomas  H.,  referred 

to,  114 

Immorality,  increase  of,  in 
Near  East  and  Far  East, 
112;  traceable  to  Western 
influence,  112 

India,  4,  29,  36,  37,  39,  40,  64, 
68,  69,  75,  77,  79,  81,  82,  88, 
105,  108,  116,  133,  136,  155, 
170,  188,  189,  200,  216,  223, 
225,  239;  unification  of 
Christian  literature  societies 
in,  200;  work  among  stu- 
dents of,  30 

Individual  work  for  individu- 
als, 215 

Ingersoll,  Robert  G.,  referred 
to,  114 

Interdenominationalism  vs.  un- 
denominationalism,  164 

Internationalism,  100 

Ishii,  J.,  referred  to,  222 

Japan,  9,  27,  43,  49,  63,  66,  68, 
78,82,88,  103,  111,115,116, 
137,  149,  155,  183,  184,  185, 
189,  200,  218,  223;  Christian 
Student  Movement  in,  44; 
conference  of  leaders  of 
different  religions  in,  9;  uni- 
fication of  Christian  litera- 
ture societies  in,  66;  work 
among  students  of,  43 

Japan  Society,  139 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  referred 
to,  139 

Kikuchi,  Baron,  referred  to, 
139 


256    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 


Korea,  42,  43,  111,  153,  216, 
222;  work  among  students  of, 
42 

Latin  America,  3,  12,  102,  115, 
128,  132,  140,  207 

Lawrence,  Dr.  Edward  A.,  re- 
ferred to,  88 

Lawrence,  Lord,  referred  to, 
136 

Lawrence,  Sir  Henry  M.,  re- 
ferred to,  136 

Laymen's  Missionary  Move- 
ment, 147,  156 

Lebanon,  29,  219 

Levant,  102,  103 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  referred  to, 
80 

Livingstone,  David,  referred 
to,   129 

Literati  in  China,  46,  47,  48 

Literature,  Christian,  66;  co- 
operation in  production  of, 
202;  in  Russia,  26;  in  Turkey, 
32;  spread  of  antichristian, 
114,  201 

Literature  societies,  unification 
of,  in  China,  200;  in  India, 
200;  in  Japan,  66 

Mabie,  Hamilton  W.,  referred 

to,   139 
Mackay,    Alexander,    referred 

to,  77 
Madras,  Archbishop  of,  quoted, 

170 
Madras,  Bishop  of,  referred  to, 

82,  184 
Manchuria,  51,  53,  216;  work 

among  students  of,  51 
Marshall,  John,  quoted,  83 
Mass  movement  in  India,  64 
McLeod,  Donald,  referred  to, 

224 


Medical  missions,  opportunity 
for,  66,  67 

Medici,  Lorenzo  de,  referred  to, 
10 

Mexico,  153 

Missionaries,  number  of  Prot- 
estant, 71;  training  of,  71 

Missionary  Education  Move- 
ment, 156 

Missionary  homes,  influence 
of,  129;  open  to  foreign 
young  men,  133 

Mohammedan  students,  in 
Cairo,  33,  35;  in  Con- 
stantinople, 27,  28,  31;  in 
India,  36,  37,  39,  239 

Mohammedanism,  4,  35,  105, 
111,  184,  213 

Montaigne,  Michel  E.  de, 
referred  to,  219 

Moody,  D.  L.,  quoted,  246 

Morley,  Lord,  quoted,  81,  91 

Mukden,  conference  in,  241; 
evangelistic  campaign  among 
students  in,  51 

Murray,  Andrew,  referred  to, 
243,  245 

Nationalism,  rising  tides  of,  11 
Near  East,  3,  19,  65,  112,  114, 

115,  116,  219 
Nevius,  Dr.  J.  L.,  referred  to, 

77 
Nicolai,    Archbishop,   referred 

to,  223 
Nicolay,  Baron  Paul,  referred 

to,  25 
Nietzsche,  F.  W.,  referred  to, 

114 
Nigeria,  112 
Nile  Valley,  4,  29 
Nitobe,  Inazo,  referred  to,  139 
Non-Christian       civilizations, 

cancerous  growths  of,  13 


INDEX 


257 


Non-Christian  lands,  peoples 
of,  accessible  and  responsive, 
19,54 

Occupation,  co-operation  in, 
70;  enlargements  of  plans 
of,  60;  of  unoccupied  fields, 
72;  problem  of,  180;  what  is 
meant  by  adequate,  179 

Okuma,  Count,  quoted,  115, 
116;  referred  to,  137 

Opium,  110,  112,  129 

Oriental  immigrants,  number 
of,  in  United  States,  136;  re- 
lation to,  137;  work  for,  136 

Outcastes,  policy  for  reaching, 
64 

Oxford,  Bishop  of,  quoted,  163 

Pacific  Islands,  3, 107, 112, 114, 

153,  160 
Pan-American  Union,  139 
Parsee  students,  in  India,  37 
Patriotism,  racial,  11 
Paul,  K.  T.,  referred  to,  79 
Peabody,    Professor    Francis, 

quoted,  219;  referred  to,  139 
Peking,  evangelistic  campaign 

among  students  in,  51 
Periodicals,    missionary,    need 

for,  88 
Persia,  referred  to,  102 
Peru,  referred  to,  106 
Philippine     Islands,     referred 

to,  135 
Pitt,  WilUam,  referred  to,  82 
Preaching  as  a  vital  method, 

216 
Putumayo  atrocities,  106 

Races,    amalgamation    of,    8; 

segregation  of,  7 
Racial  contact,  6,  7,  8,  69,  97, 

98,  100,  110,  139 


Ramsay,  Sir  William,  referred 
to,  76 

Reconciliation,  apostles  of,  172 

Restraints  of  non-Christian 
civilization  broken  down,  115 

Robert  College,  210 

Roosevelt,  Col.  Theodore, 
quoted,  26;  referred  to,  136 

Root,  Elihu,  referred  to,  136 

Rouse,  Miss  Ruth,  referred  to, 
25 

Russia,  20,  21,  23,  26,  29; 
agnostics  among,  23;  in 
zone  of  power,  26;  Student 
Christian  Movement  in,  25; 
tendency  toward  suicide 
among  students  of,  22;  work 
among  students  of,  20 

St.  Paul,  as  a  statesman,  75 

Schopenhauer,  Arthur,  referred 
to,   114 

Scriptures,  see  Bible 

Selwyn,  Bishop,  quoted,  160 

Sierra  Leone,  referred  to,  112 

Smith,  George  Adam,  quoted, 
224;  sermon  by,  234 

Spectator,  of  London,  quoted, 
59 

Speer,  Robert  E.,  quoted,  148; 
referred  to,  243 

Spencer,  Herbert,  referred  to, 
114 

Stamboul,  Moslem  University 
in,  30 

Statesmanship,  shown  by 
vision,  75,  76;  by  ability  to 
grasp,  define  and  apply  cor- 
rect governing  principles,  77; 
by  recognizing  and  observing 
relationships,  78;  by  capac- 
ity to  select  and  guide  men, 
80;  by  sympathy  and  imag- 
ination, 80;  by  understand- 


258    THE  PRESENT  WORLD  SITUATION 


ing  of  the  times,  82;  by  wis- 
dom in  planning,  82;  by 
profiting  from  knowledge 
and  experience  of  others,  83; 
by  judgment,  84;  develop- 
ment of,  84-92 

Statesmen,  missionary,  char- 
acteristics of,  75;  examples 
of,  74;  needed  to  enlarge 
plans,  59;  to  improve  mis- 
sionary strategy,  61;  to 
develop  evangelistic  work, 
62;  to  establish  indigenous 
Churches,  64;  to  meet  the 
educational  opportunity,  65 ; 
to  produce  and  distribute 
Christian  Hterature,  66;  to 
create  the  medical  profession 
for  non-Christian  world,  63; 
to  help  solve  social  problems, 
67;  to  help  solve  racial  prob- 
lems, 69 ;  to  guide  the  move- 
ment toward  co-operation 
and  unity,  69;  to  ensure 
better  training  of  mission- 
aries, 71;  to  work  out  plans 
of  occupation,  72;  to  bring 
about  helpful  relations  be- 
tween Mission  Boards  and 
leaders  on  the  field,  73;  as 
leaders  at  the  home  base, 
73 

Stewart,  Dr.  James,  quoted, 
121 

Strategy  in  distribution  of 
forces,  62 

Student  Christian  Movement, 
187,  188;  among  foreign  stu- 
dents in  Christian  lands,  141; 
in  Japan,  44;  in  Russia,  25; 
in  Turkey,  33;  spread  of,  128 

Student  Volunteer  Movement 
for  Foreign  Missions,  156, 
187;  watchword  of,  170 


Student  Volunteer  Movement 
of  China,  187,  241 

Students,  foreign,  accessible, 
141;  foreign,  in  American 
•colleges,  140;  migration  of, 
98,  140;  Oriental,  number  of, 
studying  in  America,  140 

Sudan,  105 

Sunday  School  Union,  154 

Survevs  of  fields  called  for,  178, 
182' 

Syncretism,  14 

Taylor,  J.  Hudson,  as  a  states- 
man, 83;  referred  to,  72,  222 

Tientsin,  evangelistic  campaign 
among  students  in,  54 

Tokyo,  Imperial  University 
in,  45 

Training  of  missionaries,  71 

Transcendence,  process  of,  166 

Tsinanfu,  evangelistic  cam- 
paign among  students  in,  49 

Turkey,  4,  13,  27,  28,  29,  32, 
33,  69,  107,  128,  149;  Chris- 
tian Student  Movement  in, 
33;  work  among  students  of, 
27 


Union  colleges  and  universi- 
ties, 197 

Union  hospitals,  199 

Union  language  schools,  190 

Union  medical  schools,  197, 
199 

Union  of  International  Asso- 
ciations, 99 

Union  theological  colleges, 
need  for,  188 

United  Church  of  South  India, 
155 

Unity,  Church,  155 

Unity,  see  Co-operation 


INDEX 


259 


Universal  Day  of  Prayer  for 

Students,  50 
"Untouchabloa,"  64,  82 

Vatican,  75 

Venn,  Henry,  referred  to,  74 

Verbeck,   Dr.  Guido,  referred 

to,  78 
Voltaire,  referred  to,  114 

Warneck,    Prof.    Gustav,    re- 
ferred to,  82,  243 
Washington,  George,  referred 

to,  76,  83 
Western    civilization,    corrupt 

influences   of,    12,   60,    102, 

110;  unchristian  aspects  of, 

147 
Wilder,  Consul-general  A.  P., 

referred  to,  135 
Wilder,    Robert    P.,    referred 

to,  32 
Williams,    S.    Wells,    referred 

to,  135 
Wilson,    President    Woodrow, 

referred  to,  135 
Woman's  movement,  influence 

of,  117 
World    Conference    on    Faith 

and  Order,  163 
World  Missionary  Conference 

in  Edinburgh,  1910,  70,  71, 


115,  1.56,  163,  171,  181;  re- 
port of  Comrai-ssions  of,  243; 
work  of  Commissions  of,  86, 
226 

World  Peace  Foundation,  139 

World  Student  Christian  Fed- 
eration, Conference  of  1907, 
44;  of  1913,  26;  in  Con- 
stantinople, 28;  reception  oi 
Russian  Movement  into,  20 

World  situation,  unprece- 
dented in  opportunity,  3; 
in  danger,  5;  in  urgency,  11, 
14 

Wreda,  Baroness,  referred  to, 
223 

York,  Archbishop  of,  referred 
to,   164 

Young,  Dr.  John  C,  of  Arabia, 
quoted,  213 

Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, 131,  154;  in  Shang- 
hai, 141 

Young,  Sir  Mack  worth,  re- 
ferred to,  136 

Young  Women's  Christian  As- 
sociation,   154 

Yun  Chi-ho,  referred  to,  222 

Zwemer,  S.  M.,  referred  to,  36 


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305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17   •   Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

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